The Redhead, The Robot, and The Two Quiet Girls
by Thisizaraisu
Summary: Mai has to move away from Tokisadame, and the world around her feels the effects. Lucky Star X Nichijou crossover, definitely my most ambitious project thus far! Friendship, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Romance. I have no plans of cancelling this story, so stay tuned. Rated T for occasional harsh language.
1. The Bearer of Bad News

It was the final day of classes at Tokisadame High School before summer vacation. The students in Ms. Sakurai's classroom had finished their final English exam and were chatting among themselves. Towards the back of the room, Yuuko and Mio were discussing their plans for the break.

"... and then Yoshino wants to take me to Kyoto and visit a few of the shrines there."

"Damn, you have so much planned already! Aren't you gonna make any time for meeeee?", Yuuko teased while leaning forward on the desk, her forehead almost nudging Mio's shoulder. She chuckled in response.

"Don't worry Yuuko, we have a whole 40 days to enjoy the summer. There'll be plenty of time for our usual shenanigans."

Mai was sitting to Yuuko's right as usual, heavily engrossed in one of her favorite manga. However, something was obviously different today. Instead of casually sitting back to read, her face was buried right into the pages.

"Uhh, Mai? Is everything okay?", Yuuko questioned.

Mai said nothing. She only placed the manga onto her desk and looked at her hands which were now folded in her lap. She made no effort to acknowledge her friend's inquiry. In fact, she made every effort to ignore it.

"Okay, class, may I please have your attention for a minute?", a flustered Ms. Sakurai asked her class. To her surprise, the conversations actually fell to a reasonable volume, with some students even turning their attention to her for once. "I know you're all excited about the long break, but I want to mention one more thing before I let you go. One of your classmates has an announcement she would like to make."

Immediately after this declaration, Mai stood up and walked towards the front of the classroom. The two friends looked at Mai, then turned to face each other.

"Do you think this is gonna answer my question?", Yuuko asked.

She reached the other end of the room, and in typical Mai fashion, removed her shoes and vaulted herself onto Ms. Sakurai's desk to stand before her colleagues. Ms. Sakurai no longer questioned it at this point. She paused for a moment as she quickly found her balance, and drew in a deep breath.

"I'm moving away."

There was almost no response from the class, aside from Yuuko and Mio in the back of the room who audibly gasped with pale faces and wide eyes. They did not move a muscle as Mai hopped down from the teacher's desk, slipped her shoes back on and walked to the back end of the room once more.

"Okay, well... I expected a bit more fanfare out of an announcement like that, but I guess you guys are free to go! Have a wonderful break," Ms. Sakurai concluded. Every student in the class began eagerly packing their bags aside from the trio of friends in the back rows.

Nano was visibly dejected but still able to pack her bag. She began to walk up to her friends, hoping to get more details from Mai.

"Hey Mai, I just wanted to ask..."

As soon as she saw the faces of Yuuko and Mio, she quickly determined that now was not the right time. She turned around and removed herself from the classroom, not worried about her friends seeing the key in her back for once.

Yuuko and Mio still had not budged, while Mai put her head down on her desk with a thud. "This is why I was waiting to tell you guys..."

* * *

It was also the final day of classes at Ryōō High School, and a group of eight friends were exchanging farewells.

"I can't believe you guys are graduating," Hiyori said as she addressed the four seniors in front of her. "Any tips for surviving the rest of high school?"

"Well, if you stopped imagining your friends in yuri situations all the time, you could probably get a lot more work done," Konata laughed in reply.

"Uh! Y-you have too much faith in me..."

"I'm kidding! You gotta get that inspiration from somewhere, y'know?"

"Minami-chan, what's yuri?", Yutaka asked as she looked up at her best friend.

Minami, along with everyone else in the group, froze up.

"Well, you see Yutaka, when a girl and another girl love each other very much..."

Hiyori didn't have time to finish her statement before she was tackled to the ground by the blue-haired otaku, a hand now covering her mouth. "Please... don't corrupt my little cousin," she whispered in her ear.

"Sorry, sorry," Hiyori replied. Konata helped her perverted friend off the ground and they both dusted themselves off. Yutaka only cocked her head to the side quizzically as everyone else regained their composure.

"Well anyways, it is hard to believe that we'll all be going our separate ways," Miyuki said as she changed the subject. "After all, the four of us have found completely different colleges that we'll be attending."

"I still can't believe this little gremlin got into such a prestigious school," Kagami remarked as she turned to Konata with a smirk.

"Hey, I told you they'd be impressed with my game design portfolio."

"You did, but that doesn't mean I was ever gonna believe you."

"Such a tsundere indeed," Konata, Hiyori and Patty said in unison. The three burst into laughter as Kagami could only reply with a blunt "Shut up!"

"I sure am gonna miss you, Patty-chan...", Yutaka stated as the laughter subsided.

"Don't worry, Yutaka, I'm gonna do my best to come back for third-year. I'll beg my parents if I have to," she replied with determination. Her confidence actually eased Yutaka's emotions quite a bit.

"I guess you guys are gonna have to find a fourth friend for your group in the meantime, huh?", Tsukasa conjectured.

"I guess so, we've gotta maintain the slice-of-life anime structure," Hiyori replied. "I wonder who it will be."

* * *

It was another peaceful day at the Shinonome household.

Nano had returned home from her final day of classes, and as usual Hakase was right at the door to greet her.

"NANO!", she exclaimed as she grabbed hold of Nano's leg with a firm hug. However, she could tell that something was off about Nano today. She did not bend down to hug her creator, or even stop moving. She walked right to the living room, carrying the extra weight of Hakase attached to her leg without much trouble. Hakase finally let go as Nano approached the living room table. She knelt down in front of the table with a long sigh.

"Is something wrong, Nano? You didn't notice my display of incredible cuteness."

"Hm?" Nano finally snapped back into reality. "Oh, Hakase! I'm so sorry. Come here," she replied as she spread her arms to receive a hug.

"Eh, I dunno, you had your chance for a hug and you kinda blew it."

"Oh... okay..."

"So what's the matter, Nano?"

"Well, it's one of my friends from school. It's Mai. I just found out that she's moving away this summer."

"Oh no! I'm so sorry." Hakase could see that her condolences didn't do much for Nano as she shed a single tear. "Do you want me to make another memory-eraser ray and make her parents forget about moving?"

Nano chuckled. "No, not after last time. And besides, I knew that I would have to say goodbye to my friends eventually... I just didn't expect it to be so soon."

Hakase only sat back and nodded, nibbling on a chocolate shark.

"I just don't know if I'm going to be able to find any more friends. Look at me, Hakase! I'm a freak! I have this huge key sticking out of my back that I just want removed already, I'm so socially awkward that I -"

"I thought you made friends pretty easily on your first day, Nano."

Nano looked up at Hakase with surprise. This was the first time she mentioned that she wanted the key removed without Hakase directly protesting it.

"I think you've made some pretty great friends too. I've always loved spending time with Yuuko and the others. And besides, even if they have to leave eventually, I'll always be here for you..."

As Hakase looked up at her with pleading eyes, Nano couldn't stop herself from sobbing as she put her face into her hands. However, her tears were no longer sad. They were now tears of relief.

"Okay, fine, I guess you can have a QUICK hug," Hakase said as she approached her friend with her arms outstretched. Nano moved her hands away from her face and snapped Hakase up in a tight embrace, weeping into her creator's shoulder. "Hey, be careful, you're gonna stain my labcoat," Hakase chuckled as she hugged back, knowing full well that Nano did not plan on letting go for a while.

Suddenly the two heard the pitter-patter of tiny paws on the hardwood floor in the hallway.

"Oh hey Nano, welcome home! How were your final exams?"

"NOT NOW, SAKAMOTO, YOU'RE RUINING THE MOMENT!", Hakase screamed in response. As the child's piercing shriek sent Sakamoto running in the opposite direction, it also forced Nano to break the hug and move back, her artificial eardrums still ringing a bit.

"Sorry about that," Hakase giggled with a guilty hand on the back of her neck.

"It's okay, I'm used to it at this point." Nano offered her first genuine smile since she came home that day.

"I know! I'll get started on a new feature that'll make you super happy!"

"Hakase, are you sure? You know I don't really like all these unnecessary 'upgrades' that you give me," she replied with air quotes and rolled eyes.

"Aww, come on, I promise this one's gonna be great! You're gonna love it, trust me! I'm your best friend!"

"Okay, okay," Nano sighed with a smile. "Just don't make it anything too crazy."

* * *

"You're just gonna drop this on us the last day of school?! When we're all excited about summer vacation?!" Yuuko was obviously not taking the news very well.

"Yuuko, calm down! It's not her fault!" Mio had to restrain her friend as she tried to advance on Mai with fists of fury.

"Please... Stop yelling, Yuuko... I don't have a choice. My father's work is making him switch locations again, and it's too far for me to stay."

Yuuko had run out of energy and bent over, hands on her knees as Mio finally released her grip.

"I would have loved to be with you guys for second-year, but I can't exactly stay behind. I'm still a high school student, after all."

"So what?! Nano lives with an eight-year old and she does perfectly fine!"

"Yuuko... don't make this harder than it has to be... I'm so sorry..." Mai began to shed a tear as she looked down at the ground. Unlike pranks she had pulled on Yuuko before, this tear was completely genuine.

Mio glared at Yuuko and slapped her shoulder with a backhand before she began speaking. "We understand, Mai. We just hope that you'll keep in touch. Where are you going to be moving to?"

"Saitama... So we'll be six hours away from Tokisadame... I don't know if I'll ever see you guys again after next week..."

It was now Yuuko's turn to cry, as she ran towards Mai with her arms wide open for a hug. Mai returned this gesture with a belly-to-belly suplex, planting Yuuko onto the grass below them.

"Yuuko, I know I'm really emotional right now but I still don't like being touched..."

"Right, right... I deserved that one."

"Oh, Mai, I wanted to ask," Mio interrupted. "What are you going to do about your education? Are there any good private schools in the area?"

"Actually, my father already signed me up for this one school," Mai answered as she reached into her backpack. "We did some research and this was the one that accepted the most transfer credits."

Mai pulled her hand back out of her backpack, now holding a purple pamphlet which she handed to Mio. In large white lettering, the top of the brochure read **"Welcome to ****Ryōō High"**.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, this is absolutely going to end up as my longest fic to date, and maybe ever. I have a lot of ideas on the way for this one. I was originally going to save the last section for Chapter 2 but it seemed like such an obvious connection that I just got it out of the way. I don't want to give anything away about future chapters, so just stay tuned! I'll try to put out updates regularly with no plans to abandon this story.**

**Finally, I'm going to end every chapter with a classic Yuuko haiku.**

**_We create despair_**

**_But our friends create comfort_**

**_Mogami_****_ River_**


	2. The Fear in Her Eyes

"Alright, this should be the last one!", Sojiro exclaimed. In his hands was a deceptively heavy cardboard box, filled to the brim with numerous volumes of manga.

"Thanks for all your help today, dad. I couldn't have gotten all of my things into the truck without you."

"No problem, Konata. Man, I knew this day would come eventually, but my thoughts are still heavier than anything I just lifted."

Sojiro wiped a tear from his eye, and Konata responded to this by playfully punching her father's arm. "Don't get all sentimental, you're gonna make me cry too."

"I'm still surprised you wanted to move out so soon, knowing how much time you spend in your room and all."

"Well, I'm gonna be living in Kyoto for a while and I gotta get to know the area. Besides, I planned a few days of sightseeing with Yuki-chan next week."

Suddenly, the father and daughter were interrupted by the loud screeching of tires, meaning only one thing: Yui had finally arrived.

"Yoo-hoo! Congratulations again on your big day, Konata!", she shouted as she slammed the door to her car shut.

"Thanks, Yui-neesan! Hey, why were you so late getting here? We just got the last of the boxes in the truck."

"Ah, I had to make a detour. The chief called in about some robbery in Akihabara. 400,000 Yen and three limited-edition Gundam figures were reported missing."

"UGH! Why do these idiot criminals always have to make us otaku look so bad?"

As Konata sat on the curb to pout, Yui turned her attention to Sojiro.

"Thanks again for letting Yutaka stay at your place even though Konata's moving to her apartment today."

"Hey, it's no problem. It'll be nice to still have someone in the house."

"That reminds me, I forgot to mention something." Before Sojiro could even utter a syllable in response, Yui pulled her pistol out of its holster and held the barrel just a few inches from his forehead. "You see how clean and shiny this gun is? If you try anything **funny **with my little sister, I'll have no problems getting it a little _dirty._"

"Hey hey hey, take it easy! Yutaka's family!" Sojiro pleaded with Yui to lower the gun as his hands shot straight up into the air.

"That's never stopped you before, dad," Konata giggled. As she saw Yui take an angry step towards Sojiro, she immediately regretted what she said. Grabbing her cousin's arm, she shouted, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Don't worry, Yui-neesan. Dad may be a bit weird but he won't go that far."

Sojiro and Konata sighed in relief as Yui stepped back and holstered the pistol once more.

"Oh hey, speaking of Yutaka, where is she?"

"She's down at the airport. Patty-chan is leaving for America today and she wanted to see her off. I would have went too but hey, these boxes weren't gonna move themselves. I just gave Yu-chan some yaoi doujin to give to Patty-chan as a farewell gift." Yui reached for her weapon again upon learning what Konata had given to her sister. "IT'S OKAY, I WRAPPED THEM!" It was now Sojiro's turn to chuckle as Konata grew pale before Yui removed her hand from the gun's grip.

"I can't help but feel bad for my little sis, you know? She's seeing two close friends off in one day, how do you think she's taking it?"

* * *

As one might have guessed, Yutaka was not handling the situation very well. She was currently being held by a seated Minami as she sobbed into her best friend's shoulder. The mint-haired girl was too concerned with the redhead's emotions to say anything to Patty, so Hiyori had to handle most of the farewell by herself.

"You got your passport?"

"Mm-hmm."

"All your anime DVDs?"

"Yup."

"Konata's gift?"

"Right here."

"I guess that's everything then."

"Yeah..."

A silence fell over the two friends as they could only look down at their feet. They were easily two biggest otaku in Ryōō High since Konata had graduated, and now they had to part ways. It was tough for both of them, knowing that nobody would ever understand them as well as they understood each other. Without warning, Patty dropped her carry-on to the ground and grappled Hiyori into a tight embrace.

"C-Can't... breathe..."

Patty could not hear her friend as her head was currently nestled in between the American's cleavage, greatly muffling her voice.

**_"Attention, passengers. Flight 372 to San Francisco is now boarding. If you are on Flight 372 and sitting in sections A, B, C or D, you have five minutes to find your seat."_**

Patty reluctantly released her grip on Hiyori as the P.A. system inadvertently saved the artist from asphyxiating. Yutaka had finally gotten the tears to stop flowing as Minami carried her over to complete the group. As Minami finally put her down onto the floor, the four friends all looked at each other with barely anything to say.

"Well... I guess this is goodbye, guys."

In that moment, Yutaka couldn't find the words to describe how much the American meant to her. Instead, she opted to wrap her arms around her friend's waist and pull her in for a hug of her own. However, Patty got the message loud and clear, and began crying herself.

As Yutaka finally let go, Minami interjected. "You're coming back for third-year, correct?"

"I'm definitely gonna try, I just really hope I have the money for it. Nothing back home pays as well as the Haruhi Cafe did, y'know?"

As Minami nodded in response, the P.A. system could be heard once more.

**_"Passengers on Flight 372, sections A through D, you have one minute to find your seat."_**

"OH SHIT!" Patty knew she couldn't waste any more time, so she scooped her friends up for a quick group hug, grabbed her carry-on, and ran towards the gate like an Olympic sprinter.

Yutaka, Minami and Hiyori walked away from the airport terminal with sad smiles across their faces.

"We should probably get you back to your house to see Konata," Minami suggested to the redhead.

Yutaka sniffled, and the tears started back up as she heard her cousin's name. "I have to say goodbye to two friends in one day... Why is it that whenever I make a friend, I can never keep them around?"

"Hey, don't worry Yu-chan," Hiyori replied, placing a hand on Yutaka's shoulder. "You'll always have us, and there's gonna be a bunch of new students coming to Ryōō High this fall. I'm sure there's gonna be plenty of people who want to find new friends, and you're definitely the friendliest girl I know."

Minami looked down at Yutaka and nodded with a slight smile. "It's not the end of the world, Yutaka. You're going to be okay."

"Plus if anime has taught me anything, it's that you always end up spending time with at least three really close friends every day."

The redhead perked up a bit upon receiving her friends' encouragement. She wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve as the three exited the airport in search of a taxi back to Saitama.

* * *

"Alright, this should be the last one!", Mio exclaimed. In her hands was a deceptively heavy cardboard box, filled to the brim with numerous volumes of manga.

"I know this whole situation isn't ideal, but I really want to thank you for helping me move today, Mio."

"No problem at all, Mai. What are friends for?"

As Mai looked at her blue-haired friend with a slight smile, she could see that Mio was visibly agitated. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, of course something's wrong. I can't believe Yuuko didn't show up today! I must have told her a thousand times this week that we really needed her to be here."

"Knowing Yuuko, I don't blame her. Seeing me off would have sent her into despair."

"It's still selfish of her though, and she's always doing stuff like this! It's your last day in Tokisadame and she can't even be bothered to say goodbye."

"I told her not to make this harder than it has to be... so I suppose she followed my advice."

As a single tear flowed from Mai's eye down to her cheek, Mio's brow furrowed in anger. "She probably just doesn't want to do any work during the break. I'm not letting her get away with this. Not this time!" She pulled her flip phone out of her pocket to call Yuuko, but was interrupted by a harsh yell coming from down the street.

"MIOOOOOOOO! MAAAAAAAAI!"

"Oh, of course NOW she shows up...", Mio muttered as she rolled her eyes.

Yuuko halted her sprint as she finally got to her two friends. She immediately grabbed her knees and bent over, her breathing labored as she attempted to regain her stamina.

"Hello, Yuuko," Mai began with a smile, wiping the tear from her cheek.

"Don't 'hello' her, Mai! We already got all the boxes loaded up, so there's no point in her even being here."

"You don't have to be so harsh, Mio. It was still a nice gesture for her to..."

"Nice?! Yuuko never does anything nice! She only does something when it benefits her, and I've had it up to here with her selfishness!" She turned to the brunette. "What's your excuse this time, huh? You overslept? You couldn't figure out the cafe menu again?" As she continued scolding her friend, she noticed that Yuuko had stop panting, but she was shaking and still made no effort to look up at her. "Hey lazybones, look at me when I'm talking to you!"

As Yuuko finally raised her head, Mio and Mai were shocked to see a river of tears flowing down their friend's face.

"Yuuko... what happened?"

She responded through sobs and gritted teeth. "Hakase... It's Hakase..."

* * *

That morning, Yuuko had woken up right on schedule, refusing to let herself sleep through her alarm. She put her clothes and makeup on in record time, completely ready to take on the day.

As Yuuko walked into the cafe and placed her order (a venti iced caramel macchiato with chocolate chips, a shot of hazelnut and double espresso), she found that she couldn't feel the pride of finally mastering the menu today like she usually did.

_"I can't think about anything other than Mai... She's always been one of my closest friends, and now I have to see her go. At least this should give me the energy to do some heavy lifting today..."_ Yuuko smiled slightly as she took a drink. _"And it's not bitter at all."_

Yuuko had finished her coffee and rumination with about ten minutes to spare. The second she left the cafe, her train of thought moved from her mind to her mouth, as she talked to herself the rest of the way.

"I still feel awful about the way I took the news. I was only thinking of myself, I didn't think for a second how Mai probably feels way worse than I do. She's gotta move to a whole new area while I'm only gonna be missing _one_ of my friends.

I really need to apologize... Mai's last impression of me shouldn't be the selfish, entitled brat that I was last week. She knows I'm better than that, Mio knows I'm better than that, _I_ know I'm better than that.

I need to be honest with her. I need her to know just how important she is to me, and I need her to know that I'm not angry at her. Maybe I should prepare a haiku?"

"I suppose it would be a wonderful day for a haiku, wouldn't it, Yuuko?" The brunette looked around for the source of the voice, and as she looked upwards she saw a black cat in a red scarf approaching her, tightrope-walking across the top of a wooden fence.

"Oh, hey Sakamoto! How's it going?" As she looked over the fence, she saw that she was standing directly outside of the Shinonome Lab, a home that she knew very well by this point.

"I'd love to say it's going great, but... that would be a lie." Sakamoto dropped down to the sidewalk to stand in front of his friend. "Another day, another round of bickering between the child and the robot. They've been treating me just fine lately but I still gotta get out of the house every time they start up again. It gets way too loud."

Yuuko cupped a hand behind her ear to listen. She could only hear a faint muffling coming from inside the house. Unmistakably another argument between the two roommates, but nothing that seemed out of the ordinary.

"It doesn't sound too bad in there, are you sure you aren't just overreacting?"

"Hey, when you live with an eight-year old girl and you're way more sensitive to high-pitched sounds than a human, it's quite the ordeal!"

Yuuko chuckled. "I suppose you have a point. Maybe I came at a good time then, I'm supposed to get Nano to come with me and help Mai move out."

"Ah, that is today, isn't it? Nano has been upset about it all week, but I know she really wants to be there for Mai. You shouldn't have too much trouble pulling her out of there."

"Great, thank you Sakamoto!"

"Of course. Just be careful not to-"

Sakamoto was interrupted by a sudden occurrence: a bright green flash of light emanated from the Shinonome Lab. In the deafening silence, the two could hear a soft thud from within the house soon after.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"

"Oh my god, how bad did that argument become?!"

Yuuko and Sakamoto ran to the doorstep of the lab, bracing themselves for what they might find.

* * *

It was a peaceful day at the Shinonome household.

In typical fashion, Nano and Hakase awoke at the exact same time.

"Good morning, Nano!" Hakase greeted her friend with a hug as both were still laying down.

"Good morning, Hakase..."

Hakase released her hold as Nano did not return it.

"Hey, Nano? I know you're upset about Mai, but please try not to forget about me, okay?"

This response clearly impacted the robot as she sat up from her makeshift bed. She looked down at her friend with sincerity. "Hakase, I love you and I would never forget about you. I'm really sorry if I've been out of it this week, I've just had a lot on my mind."

"I know, I'm gonna miss Mai too... Hey, I know something that might cheer you up."

Before Nano could inquire further, Hakase sprang up and pulled the key out of her back. She had finally been relieved of the burden she always carried with her.

"H-Hakase!" Nano couldn't help but snap her creator up into a hug of her own. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you! What made you change your mind?"

"I just wanted to make you feel better. Besides, I have to put another 'little guy' into your back for this new feature to work. And if it'll make you happy, you can keep the key off for the whole day!"

Nano began to tear up with happiness. "T-Thank you, Hakase... Do you think I could keep the key off for tomorrow as well?"

"Don't push your luck there, Nano."

With a smile and a sigh of resignation, Nano fully accepted Hakase's decision. She elected to get up from her sleeping mat and kneel at the coffee table. "So, what is this new feature anyways?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Hakase already had the 'little guy' handy and popped it into the hole in Nano's back. "Go ahead and press this button!", she continued as she handed her a small remote control with a single red button. Nano took the remote into her left hand and pressed the button with her thumb. Suddenly her hand began to fold inward, causing her to drop the remote. Her entire left arm soon followed, replaced by a conical metal pole with an electric current constantly flowing up and down the entire length. At the end of the pole was a bulb glowing a very bright green.

"It's very... pretty!", Nano lied through a reluctant smile. "What exactly is it though?"

"Ta-da! It's a new and improved memory-eraser ray! Now you can go to Mai's house and after one blast from this baby, she won't have to move anymore!"

Nano sighed once more, but there was no smile across her face this time. "Hakase... I can't use this."

"But I thought this would make you happy! Now you don't have to lose a friend!"

"Blasting my friend's family with a laser and wiping all of their memories isn't going to make me happy, Hakase! That just doesn't make sense!"

"Well, excuse me for trying to help you! I really thought you would appreciate it!"

"Why would I appreciate it when I told you I didn't want this?!"

Sakamoto walked into the living room to find another argument brewing between his two owners. "Welp, I guess I'm heading out for a walk... for the fourth time this week," he muttered to himself.

"It worked the first time, didn't it Nano?!"

"The first time was a disaster! Ms. Nakamura became convinced that her memory was wiped by a Russian agency and tried to jump out the window! You're lucky we were on the first floor or you would have been in serious trouble!"

"But I saved your life, didn't I?! She had you cornered, and she was gonna perform all kinds of weird experiments on you!"

"HOW IS THAT ANY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME?!"

Hakase stepped back in shock, completely unable to provide a logical answer to Nano's question.

"I have a machine gun in my right arm, I have a sweet bun dispensary in my forehead, and every day I'm forced to lug that heavy iron key around on my back! And the worst part is I can't do anything about it because you've given _yourself_ full control of _my_ body! I'm not your friend, I'm just your FUCKING PLAYTHING!"

"Nano, please, think about what you're saying..." Hakase kept one hand outstretched as she tried to approach her friend at the table, the guilt finally beginning to set in.

"WHY CAN'T YOU EVER JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?!"

As Nano shouted this, she slammed her fists onto the table. At least, she made the motion to slam her fists on the table. In her anger she had forgotten that the memory-eraser ray in her left arm was still active. As her arms hit the table, a bright green laser beam shot out from the bulb, hitting Hakase directly in the forehead. The bright green flash of light that followed temporarily blinded Nano. As the robot regained her vision, she looked toward her friend to see her still standing but violently convulsing, the electric current moving down her body. After several seconds that felt like hours to Nano, Hakase hit the floor with a soft thud.

"No... not again..." Nano stood up with tears welling from her eyes, looking down at her unconscious friend. She knew that she would eventually wake up, but was horrified knowing what the laser had done to her.

After a minute of silence, the door to the Shinonome Lab was kicked down. Yuuko and Sakamoto ran into the living room to find Hakase passed out and Nano sobbing hysterically.

Sakamoto was the first to speak up. "JESUS CHRIST, NANO! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!"

Nano said nothing, only looking down at the carpet with clouded eyes. After quickly scanning the floor, she located the remote control and repeatedly stepped on it with intense frustration. The remote splintered into hundreds of pieces, forcing Nano's arm to return to its usual state. Taking no time to explain the situation, she flung the back door open and ran from the scene.

"Nano, wait!" Sakamoto attempted to follow her, but turned around to face Yuuko upon hearing her shout through tears of her own.

"I'm going to get help! Don't leave Hakase alone!"

As Yuuko bolted out of the front door, Sakamoto walked up to Hakase's body, sprawled out on the carpeted floor. As he approached her to check for breathing, she suddenly began to stir. She clutched her forehead in pain before forcing herself to sit up.

"Oh, thank God! You're alive! I thought you were a goner, kid!"

"Wh... Where am I? _Who_ am I?.. Why is this cat _talking_ to me?"

Sakamoto had to clutch his face in worry once he grasped the situation. "Oh no... not this again."

* * *

**Author's Note: This story's definitely heading the way I want it to! I tend to get a general sense of what my ideas are and then put a lot of it together with improv, so I hope that my writing style works for this story.**

**I'm really happy with how this chapter came out. I wasn't expecting it to go over 3,000 words but I found myself in love with so much of the dialogue that I came up with. But just because I'm happy with it doesn't mean you have to be. Please feel free to leave criticisms, guys! I really wanna improve.**

**Expect Chapter 3 to come around New Year's, I will have a lot on my plate from tomorrow on!**

**_Pain was left behind_**

**_But then the guilt took its place_**

**_Mogami River_**


	3. The Fire Inside

As Yuuko sprinted out the door of the Shinonome Lab, she could hardly see the sidewalk ahead of her. Her view was obstructed by the clouded tears that filled her eyes. She tried to wipe them away with her sleeve more than once, but they were quickly replaced each time. Of course, it was natural that she couldn't control her emotions at the moment, as she had just seen her friend Hakase passed out on her own living room floor.

She had no idea what had sparked the argument between Nano and Hakase, especially because the two roommates fought over almost everything. However, this argument was clearly more intense than usual, to the point where Nano had inflicted physical harm upon her creator. The events of the past ten minutes continually played on repeat in Yuuko's mind as she raced to the local police station. While she was very concerned for her friend, something else about the situation made her uneasy: Nano made no effort to help Hakase. She didn't even make an effort to explain herself, she only fled the scene. Hakase was now helpless because of her. Yuuko began experiencing a feeling she never thought she could feel towards Nano, and that was pure, unadulterated anger.

Yuuko put her temper aside for a moment as she had finally reached the police station, and while she felt like she could cough up her lungs right then and there, she knew she couldn't stop to take a break. She pressed herself up against the door and banged her fist on the glass to attract the attention of an officer. However, after two minutes of knocking there was still no response. As she bent down and clutched her knees, she looked up and noticed a flyer hanging on the other end of the door, which had been just below her face the entire time:

**_"The Tokisadame Police Station is closed today in observance of the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Olympics. The police can still be reached via our emergency hotline."_**

Yuuko fell to her knees in despair, and resumed banging on the glass door to the station, but this time with both fists. The tears filled her eyes once more as she screamed to the heavens, "I left my phone at hooome!" She eventually ran out of energy and her knocking ceased, and she attempted to collect her thoughts despite the tears of frustration continuing to flow down her cheeks. After several more minutes of panic, she remembered the reason she was outside in the first place:

"Mio. Mai."

With a newfound sense of urgency, she hopped back onto her feet and bolted down the street again, this time in the opposite direction. Her friends may not be emergency professionals, but she had to find _someone_ to help Hakase.

* * *

"And that's what happened!"

As Yuuko explained the situation, Mio and Mai looked towards each other with genuine concern. Normally when Yuuko was late, she made up an emotionless excuse on the spot or simply accepted her fate and stood in the hallway. This time was different. Yuuko had sobbed through most of her explanation, and the tears had not relented since she first arrived outside of Mai's house. Her friends knew that this was serious. Hakase had been hurt, and nobody knew how or why. Well, nobody except for...

"Nano... I can't believe she would do something like this...", was all that Mio could say in response.

"We can worry about punishing her later! We have to make sure Hakase's okay!" Yuuko began dashing towards the Shinonome Lab, but was stopped in her tracks as she heard Mai call out to her in a voice much louder than she was used to.

"Yuuko! I... I can't go with you. I'm leaving for Saitama in a matter of minutes."

"This is way more important, Mai! We need as much help as possible!"

"My hands are tied, Yuuko..." Mai began to tear up herself as she continued. "Please... take Mio with you, I have to leave immediately. Can you call me after this situation is resolved?"

Yuuko could no longer keep the anger she was experiencing bottled in, and unfortunately for Mai, the anger found a completely different target. "Why should I?! If you don't care about us enough to help at a time like this, why the hell should I care about you?! I'm moving on, Mai! I'm gonna go help Hakase, because that's what _friends_ do for each other! Goodbye!"

She turned around once more and ran off. Mio knew she had to follow her, but her attention was focused more on Mai, who had just opened the door to the passenger side of the moving truck. However, she did not move an inch after the door was opened. She continued to stand outside of the truck looking down at her feet, her hands balled into fists as she uttered several light sobs. Yuuko's outburst and the potential of losing her friendship was almost too much for her to bear, and Mio knew that. She elected to share a few words with Mai before dashing off. She made her way over to Mai and, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder, began.

"Mai, you know Yuuko didn't mean any of that. She's distressed, but once we make sure Hakase is okay she'll realize how wrong she is. She'd never give up on you, Mai. You two have been friends for way too long for her to stop caring now."

Mio's words of encouragement seemed to bounce off of Mai as she made no effort to respond. She simply removed Mio's hand from her shoulder and climbed into the passenger seat, tears continuing to roll down her face. Finally, however, she spoke up.

"Mio... thank you..."

With that, Mai rolled up the window and the truck began to drive away. Mio knew that she didn't have time for sadness or nostalgia at the moment, and turned around to run towards the Shinonome Lab. She hoped that Yuuko hadn't gotten too far ahead of her.

* * *

It was a peaceful day at the Shinonome Household.

Suddenly, the front door was kicked down.

"WHERE IS SHE?!", Yuuko shouted as she entered the doorway.

Sakamoto ran to the foyer to find the source of the commotion. "Oh thank goodness, it's just you. The kid woke up while you were gone, she's in the living room. Just try not to startle -". The cat couldn't finish his thoughts as Yuuko bolted towards the living room, nearly stepping on Sakamoto's tail. "Watch it!", he snapped back at her despite knowing she wasn't listening.

"Hakase! You're alive!" Yuuko sat next to the child and scooped her up into the tightest hug she'd ever given. As she finally released the hug and her tears finally stopped flowing, she looked at her friend with a wide smile. What the child said next almost sent Yuuko into shock:

"... Hakase? Is... is that my name?", she questioned with a puzzled look on her face.

"... What did that bitch do to you?". Yuuko looked down at the floor with closed fists as a dark aura began to envelop her mind. Fortunately she was soon brought out of her rage by a familiar voice.

"Sakamoto! Is she okay?", she heard from the doorway. Mio hadn't abandoned her after all. Yuuko only caught part of the cat's response as he and Mio entered the living room.

"... completely lost her memory. I'll explain everything I know after we've all calmed down."

Mio took her seat directly next to Yuuko, putting a consolatory arm around her shoulders. As she looked into Mio's eyes, she began to feel the regret of her outburst towards Mai.

"... Has she left yet?"

Mio only responded with a somber nod. Yuuko clutched her face in her hands as she finally had time to take the whole situation in. Hakase had total amnesia, Nano was responsible for her friend's suffering, and Mai's last impression of her was that she was no longer wanted to be her friend. She could now only feel the stinging anger of experiencing multiple betrayals, one of which was entirely her fault. She knew that her fury towards Nano had come forward in her response to Mai, and she realized how wrong she was much sooner than Mio expected. "Mai... I'm so sorry..."

"May I please have your attention?", Sakamoto began as he stood on the table. "I'd like to fill you in on what's going on." After a few minutes, the three girls gathered their wits about them and turned to Sakamoto, Hakase still doubting that the voice she heard was actually coming from the cat.

Sakamoto took much longer to explain the predicament than he wanted to, mainly because he had to stop and answer questions from Hakase every thirty seconds. Despite the annoyance of constantly halting his explanation, he approached each inquiry with patience, knowing that Hakase had no intention of being irritating. She couldn't help that her memory had been completely wiped, after all. However, one question in particular still resonated with the other two girls throughout the entirety of the conversation, and it was asked almost as soon as Sakamoto began.

"... so as I walked through the hallway, I overheard Nano and Hakase bickering again, but it didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary so I..." The cat paused as Hakase's hand shot up.

"Um... who's Nano?"

Sakamoto was completely prepared to answer her question until Mio interjected with incredulity. "What?! Don't be silly, Hakase, you have to remember your best friend, right?.. Short black hair?.. Giant key in her back?.. You built her all by yourself?"

Mio became dejected as Hakase could only offer a quick shrug.

"She's probably better off without her," Yuuko muttered to herself.

Fifteen minutes had passed before Sakamoto could finally conclude the explanation. "Unfortunately, Hakase is currently without any of her memories. However, we can definitely fix it. The school was able to get Ms. Nakamura's memories back, and it should be even easier for us to help Hakase with all of her things lying around the house."

"Well, I guess we'd better get started!", Mio responded as she hopped off the floor. She looked down to her right to find that Yuuko did not share her enthusiasm at the moment. She appeared lost in thought. "Are you okay, Yuuko?"

Mio's question roused the brunette, who could only look off to the side once again. "Yeah, I'm fine..."

Fortunately for Yuuko, Mio could read her expression perfectly. She rifled through her pocket and handed her cell phone to Yuuko. "We've got all day to help Hakase. Take your time and figure out what you need to say."

Yuuko looked up at her friend with a sad smile and accepted the cell phone. She knew that she had another friend who needed her help immediately.

* * *

The Minakami family's moving truck had finally arrived at Saitama. Six hours had elapsed since she had left Tokisadame, but to Mai, the journey felt as though it had lasted an eternity. For the entire ride, she could only hear Yuuko's final words to her echoing through her mind. "She hates me... doesn't she?" Mai had stopped crying about an hour into the trip, but the lack of tears did not signify an easing of the pain. As the truck pulled into the Minakamis' new driveway, Mai decided to check her phone for a voicemail before helping her parents unload. "I hope Hakase is okay," she muttered.

She flipped her phone open to find one new voicemail, from Mio as expected. However, as she put the phone up to her ear she heard a voice that she never thought she would hear again. _"Yuuko?.."_

**_"Hey, Mai. We, uh... Hakase's awake now, and she should be okay. She doesn't remember much, but Sakamoto says we can fix it, so everything's fine. But... that's not why I'm calling right now... I fucked up, Mai. I was freaking out over Hakase and I didn't mean anything that I said to you. Mio was right, I'd never give up on you, no matter what. But I... I wouldn't blame you if you didn't believe me. I know I said some horrible things, and you probably hate me, but..." _Yuuko paused as she became choked up. _"... I can't lose you, Mai. You mean the world to me, and I couldn't go on if I didn't have you as a friend. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for being a brat this week and I'm sorry for this morning. You're my best friend. You deserve better. So, uh... I hope you guys make it to Saitama safely... Hopefully Mio and I can visit you soon. Selamat malam."_**

As Mai heard the click signaling the end of the voicemail, she finally felt like she could breathe again. A content smile crept across her face as she shed a single tear of joy. _"Yuuko... I could never hate you, Yuuko. But I hope you're ready for some intense pranks the next time I see you,"_ she thought to herself as her smile slowly became devious.

"Hey, Mai! Can you give me a hand?" Mai's train of thought was quickly interrupted by her father's request. She put her cell phone away and picked up a box from the back of the truck. As she made her way to the sidewalk, she bumped into an unknown figure, causing her to drop the box onto the ground. Mai sat up and adjusted her glasses only to encounter a horrifying discovery: pages upon pages of her hand-drawn manga were now strewn across the sidewalk, and the girl she had apparently bumped into was leafing through a few of them. This wouldn't have been an issue a year ago, but Mai had recently begun a phase where her work became much more erotic.

"Woah, this is great material!" The girl looked up from the pages to find a beet-red Mai scrambling to pick up the remaining pages. She decided to introduce herself as she handed her the pages she was holding. "Sorry about that... I'm Hiyori Tamura. I also draw manga so I was just really interested. You definitely have some quality stuff here."

"T-Thank you..." Mai looked off to the side and her blush began to fade. She was initially mortified that her work had been seen by a random passerby, but Hiyori's admission that she also drew manga put her at ease. Maybe she could understand her. "I'm Mai... Mai Minakami. I just moved in."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Mai!", Hiyori concluded with a bow. She extended a hand to help Mai off of the ground.

As the two mangaka continued their conversation, the Minakami parents peered around the trailer and watched the scene unfold before them.

"Would you look at that, honey!", Ms. Minakami exclaimed with a whisper to her husband. "Not even three minutes in Saitama and she's already made a friend!"

"I suppose so! Maybe she'll come around quicker than we anticipated."

The conversation came to an abrupt halt as Hiyori was suddenly alerted by the beeping of her watch. "Oh shit! I gotta get going, I'm visiting a friend who's moving away tonight."

The Minakami parents froze up and looked at each other. "We can't let her get away!", they whispered in unison. Mr. Minakami casually stepped out from behind the trailer, perfectly masking his internal eagerness. "Hey there, Mai! I see you've made a new friend!" Mai and Hiyori nodded towards him in perfect sync. "You know, I think your mother and I can handle the rest of these boxes if you'd like to spend some more time with her."

"That'd be great! Thank you, Minakami-san!", Hiyori answered for Mai with a bow. Hiyori began to drag Mai with her before she could add her input, but she had no issue with this because her answer would have been more or less the same.

* * *

Nano had to get far away from the Shinonome Lab. She had already been in this situation once before, and the guilt inside of her was a thousand times stronger this time because it was her best friend who was affected by the memory-eraser ray. Of course, she was also experiencing the guilt of not staying behind to help Hakase, but this guilt was currently losing the internal battle by a landslide.

As she began her mad dash towards the Tokisadame train station, a familiar figure zipped past her running in the same direction. It did not take long for Nano to notice that it was her friend Yuuko, and she quickly froze in her tracks, completely expecting to be confronted. To her surprise, however, Yuuko kept running until she was out of her field of vision.

_"Perhaps she didn't see me?"_, Nano thought with a sigh. She did not allow her relief to last long as she resumed her sprint. As she ventured onward, she noticed a large moving truck parked just up ahead, with three girls frantically conversing in front of it. In an instant, she remembered she was approaching a particular home for sale.

_"Mai! Mio! **Yuuko**! I can't let them see me!"_ She made a sharp right turn and darted into a nearby hedge, praying that she had not been spotted. After several minutes, she had still not been approached by any of her friends. "Maybe the coast is clear?" As she poked her head up to investigate, she saw that Yuuko had now taken the lead in the conversation. _"I have to somehow figure out if she's talking about me... Oh wait, Hakase installed this feature last week!.. H-Hakase..."_ As the guilt of not staying to help Hakase began to put up a fight in her internal war, Nano grasped her left ear and pulled it downward, causing a small satellite dish to sprout from the top. As soon as the dish cleared the top of the hedge, she was able to pick up on her friends' words.

_"... and she just ran away! She didn't even think about helping! Now Hakase is alone at the house with Sakamoto, she's unconscious and she needs our help! And that's what happened!"_

Nano soon joined Yuuko in uncontrollable sobbing. She knew that she was being a horrible friend by doing this, but the memories of traumatizing Ms. Nakamura prevented her from going back to the lab. She couldn't bear to see Hakase in a similar state.

_"I'm sorry, Hakase... I'll be back... Y-You're in good hands though..."_

Suddenly, Nano's thoughts were interrupted by a loud transmission that just came through the satellite dish.

_"... why the hell should I care about you?! I'm moving on, Mai! I'm gonna go help Hakase, because that's what **friends** do for each other! Goodbye!"_

As the transmission quieted down, Nano realized that Yuuko's words left her with a lot to think about. Obviously she knew Mai was upset as she could hear her faint sobbing through the satellite, but she knew that she couldn't just go up and talk to her. She would have to wait until Mio had followed the brunette. What was more important in that moment, however, was Yuuko's definition of friendship. Caring and helping...

_"That's what **friends** do for each other!"_

Nano thought back to all the times she had asked Hakase for help with something. Whether it was doing household chores, taking the key out of her back, removing unnecessary features, or just to stop throwing tantrums, Hakase never complied. There was always an excuse, and there was always an impact on Nano's life. As a result, there were many occasions where she did not feel cared for at all.

_"I'm not your friend, I'm just your FUCKING PLAYTHING!"_

The phrase she had uttered not twenty minutes ago suddenly began to echo throughout her mind. As the thought repeated itself over and over, she became more and more confident that there was significant truth to it.

"... Why the hell _should _I care about you?"

Nano wiped away her tears as she twisted her ear back into place, sending the satellite dish back into her cranium. Soon she heard the muffler of the moving truck fade into the distance, quickly followed by Mio's frantic footsteps. She knew that the coast was clear, and she knew where she had to go. There was one person in the world that would always listen to her.

After ten more minutes of walking, she had finally found the train station. She wasted no time in approaching the front desk, retrieving a 10,000 yen note from her pocket, and making her request to the attendant:

"One ticket to Saitama, please."

* * *

**Author's Note: God this chapter was a pain to write. Not because of how long it was, there was just so much transition. I'm gonna end it here for a couple days because writing transition takes me out of the right mindset. I should be good to start Chapter 4 after New Year's Eve.**

**Also I'm sorry for the distinct lack of Lucky Star content in this chapter, but rest assured the Lucky Star is on the way! There will be plenty of it as Mai meets the rest of the gang. Please stay tuned, I know this wasn't a perfect chapter by any means but with all this out of the way, I'm ready to take the story where it needs to go. And as always, feel free to leave criticism!**

_**Forgive and forget**_

_**True friendship survives the storm**_

_**Mogami River**_


	4. The Start of Something Wonderful

"Oh, come on! That's the third one in a row! We're gonna be late."

Hiyori's temper was beginning to get the better of her as she had to stop at yet another crosswalk. The two were still several minutes away from the Izumi residence, and the raven-haired mangaka did not want to miss her chance to say goodbye to the biggest otaku she knew. As Hiyori stood on the edge of the sidewalk, tapping her foot impatiently, Mai walked up to her side, finally having caught up to her. She was determined not to lose sight of her new friend, but didn't approach the situation with the urgency that Hiyori had.

Mai could easily sense how stressed Hiyori was in that moment. The foot-tapping, the constant watch-checking, a hand gripping her hair and the wavering of her voice were working in perfect unison to give it away. Hoping to alleviate her friend's stress, or at least distract her with something else, Mai reached into her backpack, pulling out a gift for Hiyori.

"Here," Mai stated as she handed her one of her hand-carved Buddha statues.

"Uh... thanks." At first, Hiyori didn't know how to respond. While it was one of the strangest things she'd ever received, she also appreciated the gesture. Upon looking at it for a minute, she began to focus on the intricacies of the woodwork and began to feel a zen wash over her, as if the crosswalk didn't exist in that moment. "Did you carve this yourself?"

Mai offered a nod and a slight smile in response, making Hiyori breathe a happy sigh. After thanking her again and taking a few more seconds to admire Mai's craftsmanship, she felt a tap on her shoulder. As she looked up, she noticed that Mai was pointing at the walk signal, which had finally changed and allowed them to pass.

"Finally! Come on Mai, we've only got about two blocks to go!"

* * *

Two blocks away, another otaku was tapping her own foot impatiently. "Ugh, where's Hiyori? She said she would be here ten minutes ago, I can't waste much more time!"

Konata had everything prepared to make the journey to Kyoto. All of her boxes were packed and she had the key to her new apartment, but she didn't want to leave without getting to say all of her goodbyes. Hiyori's tardiness made it difficult to follow through with this however, as the sun had already begun to set.

"O-Onee-san?"

Konata looked up to see Yutaka standing across from her, a single tear running down her cheek. Konata said nothing. She simply walked up to her cousin and embraced her. As irritated as she was at the moment, she couldn't help but feel emotional. The moving truck may have been full of her possessions, but there was still so much that she had to leave behind. As she pulled away from the hug, she noticed that Yutaka did not do the same. Instead she tightened her grip and began to sob into the blunette's flat chest.

"Minami, you might have to get the crowbar," Konata snickered as Yutaka hadn't released her hold on her cousin for three whole minutes. As the redhead's sobbing began to subside, the three turned their heads towards the sound of panicked footsteps running directly at them. Yutaka finally let go after Hiyori came into view.

"Am I late?!"

The three collectively smiled as their mangaka friend had finally arrived, hands on her knees as she attempted to catch her breath.

"Yeah, but you made it just in time. I was about to give up and head out, but this little troublemaker couldn't keep her hands off me."

A single drop of blood fell from Hiyori's nose as she picked up on an incest subtext that definitely wasn't there. "Oh, that reminds me!" Hiyori knelt down and began fishing around in her handbag until she pulled out a leather-bound sketchbook, and handed it to the blunette.

Konata took the sketchbook and flipped to the first page. In an instant, she clutched the book against her chest to hide the contents from her little cousin. "Woah, these are the X-rated sketches! You've never let me look at these before!"

"I figured you'd need some interesting reading material for the long ride," Hiyori replied with a chuckle.

Konata quickly scooped her friend up into a tight hug, and then threw the sketchbook onto the passenger's seat through the truck window. The second Konata turned around, she was startled by a new face that was just a few inches away from hers.

"You can have this, too." As Mai uttered these words, Yutaka and Minami also jumped as they hadn't noticed the new girl at all, despite being only several feet away from her. Konata knew she had never met this person in her life, and was very curious as to why she was being given a hand-carved Buddha statue.

"How many of those do you have in your bag?" Everyone turned to Hiyori after she asked this, silently demanding that she tell them who this stranger was. "Oh, I forgot to introduce you guys! This is Mai Minakami, she just moved into our neighborhood, and she's going to be attending Ryōō High starting this fall!"

As Konata finally accepted the statue, Mai turned to acknowledge the redhead and the mint-haired girl. She offered a bow to Yutaka, then to Minami, but suddenly froze as she looked up at the latter. Gazing into Minami's blue eyes caused her heart to skip a beat and a blush to quickly pass over her cheeks. The blue-haired otaku definitely took notice and smirked with her cat-like grin as Mai turned around to face her again.

"Well, it's nice to meet you. Thank you for the statue, it should make a nice bookend for some of my manga." Mai offered a final bow to Konata as the otaku opened the door to the truck. "I guess I'll see you guys next summer." Konata, Yutaka and Hiyori joined in one final group-hug before the former had to depart. Mai and Minami stood a few feet away from the huddle, however, preferring not to be touched.

"I know Konata has a lot of the attention right now, but welcome to the neighborhood," Minami began with a slight smile.

"Thank you..." Mai couldn't help but notice that the blush was making its way across her cheeks again. "So do all of you guys attend Ryōō High?"

Minami nodded in response. "If you'd like, I could show you around the campus before classes start. It's a larger school so you should really get to know the place."

Mai was quick to accept the offer from this new girl who had absolutely captivated her. She had no idea what she was feeling, but something about the calmness of her voice and the glimmering of her blue eyes gave her more serenity than her Buddha statues ever could. Suddenly, she was jolted out of her thoughts by the sound of a door slamming. Konata had finally gotten into the passenger seat and was ready to go.

As the truck drove out of the neighborhood, Yutaka had to wipe one final tear from her eye before turning to address the newest member of the group.

"Mai-chan, would you like to join us for dinner? We'd love to get to know you better."

The adorableness of her expression and the sincerity of her voice made Mai heavily consider the offer before remembering one important detail.

"I'm sorry, but my parents want to take me out for dinner tonight. We have reservations for a steakhouse in town." Mai stated this with a bowed head, hoping that the three would not be too disappointed.

"Oh, okay! Well, Minami-chan and her family are having a pool party tomorrow, and they invited us too. Would you like to meet us there tomorrow, Mai-chan?"

"That would be nice, but I would have to ask my parents... they might need my help unpacking tomorrow."

"I gave you my phone number on the way here, right?", Hiyori interjected. "If they say it's okay, just text me and I'll let Minami know."

Mai nodded and bowed to her new companions as she began to make her way back to her home. As the three waved goodbye to her, a series of mixed feelings began brewing inside of her. Earlier that day she had felt completely crushed, but everything seemed to be going her way since she stepped out of the truck. She had acquired her best friend's forgiveness, already succeeded in making new friends in Saitama, and felt the bliss of romantic attraction for the first time. However, she was currently unaware of the latter.

* * *

It was a peaceful day at the Shinonome household.

"So, how are we gonna get Hakase's memories back?", Mio asked.

"Well, it might be a bit tricky," Sakamoto replied. "We have all of her belongings under one roof which is incredibly convenient, but we need to stick to the ones that she had a strong emotional attachment to. Too much stimulus might make it harder for her to remember."

"It sucks that Nano's not here right now, she'd know exactly what to show her. Yuuko is really close to her though, she should be able to help!.. Hey, where is she?"

Mio's question was answered by the sound of a pan hitting the kitchen floor. As she and Sakamoto entered the kitchen, they found Yuuko trying in vain to make one of Hakase's favorite rice omelettes. She glared at the mess on the floor for five seconds before turning her head to gaze out the window. "Man, on a normal day Hakase would have yelled out 'Three second rule!' and eaten as much as she could off the floor. I miss it already..."

"Don't worry, Yuuko. Sakamoto knows what to do. I'll take care of the rice omelette, you go with him and figure out what she needs to jog her memory."

"Thanks, Mio." Yuuko looked up at her friend with a sad smile, and did what she was told.

Sakamoto repeated his explanation to Yuuko, and her smile became much more confident.

"If she just needs something that was important to her, I know exactly where to start!" Yuuko ran to the refrigerator and pulled a piece of paper out from one of the magnets. "Oh, Hakase!"

Much to her surprise, Yuuko's call was met with complete silence. She and Sakamoto began to search the house for the child until the brunette opened the back door of the house to find a sight that horrified both her and the cat.

As she heard the door open, Hakase turned to the two with the smile. "Oh, hey guys! The laundry's dry so I figured I'd put it away."

"My god... Yuuko, I don't want to say she's too far gone, but... this is definitely not the Hakase we once knew."

"We'll get her back, I know we will." Yuuko approached the scientist with the paper behind her back. "Hey Hakase, I wanna show you something!"

Hakase gave her full attention to the brunette, brimming with excitement until Yuuko handed her the paper. The smile on her face was quickly wiped away as she let out a harsh scream and threw the paper back at Yuuko.

"Yuuko, what did you show her?!"

"It's just that shark drawing that Mai made her a while back! I thought she would like it!"

"Sharks are s-s-scary...", Hakase muttered as she curled up into the corner of the fence.

"This is gonna be harder than I thought...", Yuuko sighed.

* * *

After waiting at the terminal for two hours and avoiding anyone who remotely looked like any of her friends, Nano rejoiced as the next train to Saitama finally arrived. "This is gonna be great! I'm sure Mai needs a friend as much as I do right now."

Since the day she was created, Nano's definition of friendship had been quite different from what a normal person would believe it to be. For the longest time, she lived to serve one person, and while she was happy to be considered a friend, she always knew that Hakase had gotten much more out of the friendship than she did. She was more like a mother to Hakase than anything else. Once she began attending Tokisadame High, her perspective had begun to change completely. While she was always content with life at home, she knew that she was much happier spending time with her friends than with Hakase. With the two hours she spent waiting at the station, she had plenty of time to reflect on her two years of existence, and finally approached the train with a sense of optimism she had never been able to experience before.

As she boarded the train, she found one open seat next to a well-endowed, pink-haired girl who was fast asleep. Nano couldn't help but appreciate the adorable nature of the scene before her before she took her seat. As she leaned back slightly, she heard it: the sweet sound of absolutely nothing. She hadn't realized it until now, but there was no metal key in her back anymore to clank against the back of the seat. She was finally able to lean back all the way on a seat, and the comfort of this new experience caused her to let out a sigh of relief.

As she began to relax herself, she felt a nudge on her shoulder and turned to see that the girl next to her was now resting her head right next to her. The sudden contact made her flustered and she debated on whether or not to wake her up. However, the slight motion of shock that Nano gave was enough to perk the girl up. As she yawned and opened her eyes, she adjusted her glasses to look out the window in front of her.

"Wait... this doesn't look like Kyoto." The meganekko turned to the girl who had just sat down next to her. "Pardon me, but is this the Kyoto station?"

"No, this is Tokisadame."

"Oh no, I missed my stop again!"

Nano had to stifle a chuckle before addressing the moe girl again. "It's okay, the train is headed south. It should only be about an hour before we reach Kyoto."

The pinkette breathed a sigh of relief before turning to Nano. "Thank you... I'm Miyuki. Miyuki Takara," she continued with a bow.

"Oh, Nano Shinonome."

"Are you heading to Kyoto as well, Nano?"

"No, I'm going to Saitama."

"Oh my! Saitama is a six hour ride from here. What are you going all the way out there for?"

"Just to visit an old friend," Nano told a half-truth as she hid her deeper intentions for seeing Mai.

"That's quite a long way to go to visit a friend. You must be a very loyal person."

Unbeknownst to Miyuki, these words left Nano with the sting of regret. Loyalty was no longer a quality she could say she possessed.

"It's more just that I have something important to talk to her about."

Miyuki could detect the change in Nano's demeanor as she uttered this. "Well, you have another friend right next to you. Would you like to talk to me about it?"

Nano pondered for a second, before replying with a smile. "I'd like that."

* * *

Mai and her parents were seated at the local steakhouse. As excited as Mr. and Mrs. Minakami were to try the local food, they were even more anxious to hear about how their daughter's earlier excursion went. It was very odd, but very welcome for Mai to make friends in a new location so quickly.

"So, how was your day today, Mai? Did you make any more friends?"

"Oh, yes. Hiyori introduced me to two of her classmates."

"Wow, three friends in one day? That's a new personal best for you, isn't it?" Mr. Minakami chuckled as his wife elbowed him in the side. Mai replied with a nod as she began to cut into her kobe beef. "Did you get their names?"

"Yes. Yutaka Kobayakawa and... Minami Iwakasi." Mai's parents did not let the change in tone go unnoticed as she stated the latter's name. "Pardon me, I must use the restroom." As Mai stood up from her seat and walked out of sight, her parents looked to each other with wide smiles.

"That was the exact tone you used when you met me the first time!"

"I know, and did you see the look in her eyes? She's love-struck!"

The Minakami parents whispered frantically to each other for several more minutes until Mai returned to the table.

"So, what are they like?"

"Well, Hiyori's a manga artist, Yutaka looks like she could pass for a primary school student, and Minami is..." Mai glared down at her steak as she thought carefully about her choice of words. "Minami is tall, slender, she has green hair, she's even more quiet than me... she's wonderful."

Mai continued to stare at her plate, not noticing the smiles adorning her parents' faces as a blush coated her own.

"Well, we're very happy for you Mai. I'm glad you were able to _*ahem*_ connect with someone so quickly."

Mai said nothing, and finally took the first bite of her kobe. Suddenly she remembered the invitation.

"Mom, dad... Hiyori wanted to know if I could attend a pool party tomorrow at... Minami-chan's house."

"Of course! Go have fun!", her parents said in perfect unison.

Mai smiled slightly as she looked down again. _"She's wonderful..."_, she thought to herself once more.

* * *

"It's a shame Mai couldn't join us for dinner," Hiyori spoke up as she, Yutaka and Minami made their way to a nearby cafe.

"Yeah, but hopefully she can come with us to the party tomorrow!" Minami nodded with a smile at Yutaka's eternal optimism.

Hiyori stopped walking alongside her friends as she felt her cell phone vibrate, indicating that she had just received a text message. "Well, speak of the devil! Mai's parents said she can join us." Smiles lit up the three girls' faces as Hiyori continued, "I should probably meet her tomorrow and show her the way to the train station since I know where her house is."

Yutaka and Minami nodded in response as the three walked into the cafe. As usual, the redhead and the mint-haired girl sat next to each other, closer than two friends would normally sit together. Hiyori secretly began drawing in a fresh sketchbook on her lap, her ever-present sources of inspiration seated directly in front of her.

"It's strange not having Patty here with us...", Minami stated with a somber tone.

"It is, but we may have found our fourth group member already," the mangaka chuckled as she continued to draw.

The three girls sat in the cafe for quite some time, telling stories of the two friends that they had just seen leave that day. Yutaka had plenty to say about Konata's at-home antics, while Hiyori's stories about Patty often involved manga terminology and innuendos that went over the more innocent girls' heads. While there were plenty of laughs to be had, there was still a feeling of nostalgic sadness surrounding the dinner table. The conversation eventually turned to the pool party and then the upcoming school year and summer homework before Hiyori paid the bill and the three friends left.

"Well, my street is coming up, so I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Hiyori bid her friends farewell, leaving Minami to accompany Yutaka to the Izumi residence on their own.

As they continued walking, Yutaka turned to her tall friend and spoke with a worried tone. "Minami-chan... you'll never leave me, right?"

"Hm?" Minami looked to her friend with a concerned expression. "... Would you like to sit down, Yutaka?"

The two girls found a bench a block away from the Izumi residence.

"I'm just worried, Minami-chan. We had to say goodbye to two friends today. I don't know anything about my future, but... You've just been such an amazing friend to me and I never want to have to say goodbye to you..."

"Yutaka... For as long as I've been going to school, everyone aside from Miyuki-san thought I was creepy and stayed far away from me. You were the first friend I've made since childhood. You mean the world to me, and I'm never going to leave you behind. Even if we have to part ways and live in different places, I'll always be there for you, communicating with you however I can."

"Really, Minami-chan?" Yutaka's tone became much more joyous as her friend's words touched her soul.

"Of course." Minami offered a small smile before standing up off the bench and extending her hand to her friend. The two walked to the Izumi residence in much higher spirits.

As Yutaka and Minami bid each other adieu, the redhead began to feel tired. It had gotten quite late since she had left the cafe, so she hopped into bed and turned out the light. However, her eyes were wide open for the next half-hour, staring at the ceiling and thinking about how much her closest friend meant to her, and how much happier and healthier she had been with Minami in her life.

_"Tomorrow at the party, I'm going to ask Minami-chan out. I hope she'll accept my love."_ Yutaka tossed and turned for an hour with worry, but soon drifted off to sleep with dreams of a future with the mint-haired girl. It was one of the best nights she'd had in years.

* * *

**Author's Note: Man, I hated the last chapter but I had no reservations about posting this one. It feels good to put everything in a new direction while still keeping all of my original ideas intact.**

**I want to address a few points. No, Mr. and Mrs. Minakami are not OCs. They're just there, and they aren't incredibly important to the plot.**

**Also, we've finally hit the romance segment of the fic! It's a bit light now, but it will progress, I assure you. I'm positive the romance subplot won't end the way any of you expect it to.**

**Finally, I had no intention of including Miyuki in the train segment until I started writing it. I think Miyuki is a perfect device to put the rest of the Nano subplot in motion.**

**And yes, ALL of these points are going to connect by the end. Thank you all for reading, and please offer any criticism you may have!**

**_Two hearts united,_**

**_Yet one more will feel sorrow._**

**_Mogami River_**


	5. The Day That Everything Changed

"I'm coming."

Upon hearing the doorbell ring, Minami called out to the front door (as loud as she could, which was still quite softly) as she ran to greet the first of her guests. After hopping over her dog Cherry, who was fast asleep in the middle of the floor, she opened the door to find her best friend standing on the other end.

"Good morning, Minami-chan! May I come in?"

In her usual quiet fashion, Minami only responded to Yutaka's inquiry with a happy nod. As the redhead removed her shoes, Minami walked back into the kitchen to prepare the last of the salmon roe for the party. There were multiple platters beckoning to Yutaka on the kitchen table, but she was much more interested in spending time with her mint-haired crush.

"Yutaka..." The instant Minami had spoken, Yutaka directed her gaze upwards towards her tall friend's eyes. To Yutaka, they resembled the finest sapphires that money could buy, and she could stare into them for hours. "... could you please take some of those plates out to the table on the patio? We're going to be outdoors most of today."

It took a few seconds for the words to register with Yutaka stuck in her trance, but once she understood she responded with a bow and left Minami's side to perform the task given to her. After several minutes of back-and-forth trips between the kitchen table and the patio, Yutaka had finally transferred all the platters, aside from the sushi which needed to stay inside with the air conditioning. The running and multiple changes in temperature had begun to wear the sickly girl out, and she quickly sat down onto the living room's leather couch to catch her breath.

"Thank you, Yutaka," Minami replied with a smile as she placed the finished salmon roe on the kitchen table with the rest of the sushi. Much like Yutaka, Minami was also quite tired from spending the entire morning preparing food. It would have been much easier if her mother was able to help, but the timing of Honoka Iwasaki's business trip couldn't have been any worse for the mint-haired girl. With the last of the dishes finally prepared, Minami found a seat right next to her diminutive friend and turned on the television. "Is there anything you'd like to watch?"

"Oh, that's okay Minami-chan! You've been working really hard, you can choose."

With a smile and a nod, Minami flipped to a channel showing live coverage of a local dog show. The two leaned back onto the couch in perfect sync, but while Minami's eyes were fixated on the screen in front of her, Yutaka couldn't help but let her mind wander.

_"When a girl and another girl love each other very much..." _Hiyori's words from the final day of classes continued to echo through her head. Despite Konata's best efforts to protect her cousin's innocence, the message was not lost on Yutaka.

_"She called it 'yuri'... So these feelings I've had for Minami-chan aren't wrong after all... we're both girls, but other girls have these feelings too..."_

That morning, Yutaka had walked into the Iwasaki residence completely motivated to express her feelings to her beloved Minami. The redhead soon realized how perfect the current opportunity was: both she and her friend were sitting right next to each other, completely alone.

_"I should say something now..." _Yutaka opened her mouth to speak, but quickly found her nerves getting the better of her. As hard as she tried, she couldn't get the words to come out. She looked to Minami, who was still glued to the television, then down to her hand which was rested on the couch cushion. It was mere inches from her own, almost calling out to her, ready for the taking. After a moment of hesitation, Yutaka slowly extended her hand...

**_*BZZZZZZ*_**

Minami's eyes quickly darted from the screen to the front door. "Oh, that must be Hiyori and Mai. I should go let them in. Do you need anything while I'm up, Yutaka?"

Once again, the redhead needed a few seconds to gather herself. She was completely prepared to do perhaps the boldest thing she would ever do, but it seemed that fate had other plans as the doorbell broke the perfect silence. As disappointed as she was, she did a surprisingly good job of hiding her thoughts in her response. "No thank you, Minami-chan!" As Minami nodded and made her way to the door, Yutaka couldn't help but bury her face in her hands out of frustration. Part of her was very excited to see her other friends though, so she quickly shook off the emotion and joined Minami in greeting the others.

"Good morning, Hiyori. Good morning, Mai. I trust that you didn't have much trouble finding -" Minami could not continue without emitting a small gasp. Her eyes had found their way to Mai's hands, which were currently holding up Pyon, the small white dachshund of the Minakamis. A further glance also revealed to Minami that a larger dog was sitting at her new friend's feet: Oguri Cap, the St. Bernard.

"Hiyori told me you have a dog of your own... I thought these guys should make some new friends too."

"Mai, they're so... adorable." Minami's smile stretched wider than she ever thought possible as she gazed upon the two dogs before her. "I hope Cherry won't mind... Please, come in you two."

Hiyori and Mai entered the Iwasaki residence as Minami waved them inside. After kicking off her shoes, Mai placed Pyon onto the floor and removed Oguri Cap's leash. The two canines soon made their way over to Cherry, who was still asleep on the hallway's Persian rug. The sound of rapid panting stirred Cherry from her slumber, and she quickly rose her head to find the source of the commotion. Much to Minami's surprise, Cherry maintained her usual calm demeanor, and even moved closer to Oguri Cap and snuggled up next to him. Oguri Cap not only accepted Cherry's presence, but even laid down directly next to her and joined her for a nap.

"Wow... Oguri Cap never falls asleep in the morning, he always wants to play," Mai noted.

"They look so peaceful though... as if they were meant to be together," Minami replied. The two quiet girls smiled at each other, but soon turned their heads away in unison as light blushes painted their face.

"Um... Mai-chan? Didn't you have two dogs when you walked in?", Yutaka questioned. Mai, Minami and Hiyori joined Yutaka in looking towards the floor to see that Pyon was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, Hiyori noticed a flash of white out of the corner of her eye, heading directly for the kitchen table.

"There!"

"My salmon roe!"

Time appeared to slow to a crawl as the girls watched Pyon leap towards the sushi platters. Hiyori and Yutaka collectively gasped, while Minami simply stood in silence as she was positive that hours of cooking and preparing food were bound to be wasted. Mai, however, acted quickly, grabbing the catcher's mitt from her back pocket and sliding it onto her right hand. With one fluid motion, she stepped between Pyon and the table and caught the small dog just before the appetizers were ruined. Hiyori and Yutaka soon joined Minami in her stunned silence.

"I'm sorry, he does that sometimes. I'll hold onto him for a while."

* * *

"... and so, that's why I'm going to Saitama."

As Nano concluded her explanation, she turned to Miyuki hoping to receive guidance. Instead, she was met with an extremely perplexed look from her new friend. The pinkette's expression left Nano wondering what had confused her.

"I'm sorry... you said that you're a robot?"

_"Oh, that's right, she's not from Tokisadame..." _Rather than answering her inquiry verbally, she simply knocked on her left temple twice. Not only did this produce the sound of clanging metal, but it also caused her forehead to produce a piping hot sweet bun. Miyuki's questioning expression was replaced with one of pure shock as she audibly gasped.

"I... I see," was all that the meganekko could say in response to this revelation. "So, everything you've told is true."

"Yes... and so I got on this train hoping to find the only person who ever actually listens to me."

"Well, if I could offer some advice, Nano-san... I believe you've taken the wrong course of action. I understand that your previous experience was quite troublesome, but there would be nobody better than you to aid your friend in this situation. The best way to help her through her amnesia would be to surround her with familiar parts of her everyday life, and it seems that you're the one who would know the most about her."

"I just think I hit my breaking point today, Miyuki. It was another one of the features she added without my consent that got me into this mess. I've been thinking back as far into the past as I possibly can, and I just don't have many positive memories with her. She calls me a friend, but I've always felt like a servant. She's never really cared for me or helped me with anything..."

"To be fair, are you caring for her or helping her right now?"

Upon hearing these words, the immortality of Nano's actions struck her in an instant. She knew that the pinkette was right. She had always resented Hakase's selfishness, but found herself on a train to Saitama acting far more selfishly than the professor ever had.

"H-Hakase... what have I done?"

Miyuki rested a comforting hand on Nano's shoulder as she began to cry into her hands. "It's okay, Nano-san. If you truly believe that she's in good hands, it's not too late to make up for it. Go to her and help her regain her memories."

"B-But how am I going to get back to Tokisadame now?!"

"The next station after Kyoto is Osaka, which has a direct route to your hometown. It shouldn't take you more than forty minutes to get back."

Nano sniffled and wiped away a tear, feeling comfort after receiving this new information. "Okay... I'm going to do the right thing," she said with a smile.

"I'm glad to hear it, Nano-san," the pinkette replied with a smile that matched the robot's.

**_"Attention passengers, we are approaching Kyoto. If you have purchased a ticket to Kyoto, please begin making your way to the nearest exit in an orderly fashion."_**

"Oh! My stop is coming up. I wish you the best of luck." Miyuki left her seat and bowed to Nano before she began to head for the double doors.

"Miyuki, wait!" The meganekko turned to Nano as she called out to her. The robot reached up to her forehead and handed her new friend the sweet bun. "Thank you."

"Of course," she replied as she enthusiastically took the treat and left through the exit, along with most of the other passengers.

_"Now that I think about it though," _Nano thought to herself, _"is now really a good time to go back? Yuuko will probably be furious with me, and Hakase's in good hands anyways. Maybe I should give it a day or so before I head back so everyone can cool down... including me."_

Nano pulled the ticket stub out of her pocket and remembered that one of her friends was close to the station she was waiting for.

_"Well, I already bought the ticket. Might as well get my money's worth." _With a deep breath, Nano let her back hit the seat once again and did something she was able to do for the first time ever: relax.

_"First thing tomorrow though, I'll do the right thing for Hakase... I'm just doing the right thing for myself today."_

* * *

It was a peaceful day at the Shinonome household.

"Yuuko, can we _please_ take a lunch break?"

"No! I'm not going to stop until Hakase's memories come back!"

"Look, we've been at this for hours, and we've pretty much shown her everything in the house. I don't think we're going to be able to do this without Nano."

"I think she's right, kid," Sakamoto agreed with Mio. "Showing her everything we own isn't going to do much good, it could overload her."

"We don't need Nano for this! _She_ doesn't need Nano! She deserves better, and I'm gonna prove it once we get her back to normal!"

As Yuuko continued shoving objects into Hakase's face, almost literally, Sakamoto and Mio excused themselves to the kitchen.

"Mio, Nano could be anywhere in Japan right now. I'm starting to think this is a lost cause, but if there's a chance that we can get her memories back, we need to get Yuuko to calm down."

"Understood." Without another word, Mio moved back to the living room and tapped Yuuko on the shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, what do you want, Mi-" Before Yuuko could finish her sentence, Mio smashed Nano's clay Daruma doll on top of the brunette's head, knocking her out cold.

"I, uh... I think you could have TALKED her out of it, Mio."

"I _really _don't want to hear her talk for a while, Sakamoto. That's all she's done today. Besides, she's survived much worse." She turned her attention to the confused professor. "Hey Hakase, let's go to the bakery and I'll get you a whole sweet roll!"

"Yay! You're the best, Mio!" Hakase seemed to completely forget how the blue-haired girl had just assaulted her friend and ran out the door with Mio, leaving Sakamoto to watch after the unconscious Yuuko.

"I guess it's good that she got her out of here, it should clear her head a bit. I feel like Yuuko was really close to making this an impossible task." Sakamoto began making his way to Yuuko, stepping over the hundreds of utensils, pictures, toys, test tubes and food items that were now strewn across the living room floor. As he laid down next to her and awaited her return to consciousness, he noticed one framed picture out of the corner of his eye. The image showed Hakase with a fearful look as she coasted down the tallest slide at the local playground, with Nano ready to catch her at the bottom. At least, this is what the image was _supposed _to depict. Further inspection showed that Yuuko had broken the glass around Nano's head and removed it from the picture entirely.

"There's no way Nano did this on purpose...", the black cat sighed. "I'm sure there's gotta be _one _object in this house that can fix everything..."

* * *

Two hours had passed since Hiyori and Mai arrived at the Iwasaki residence. In that time, the four girls had enjoyed a luxurious brunch, watched the rest of the dog show on television, and finally got ready to go swimming. After each of the girls had complimented their friends' choices of swimwear, they made their way back out to the patio. Within minutes, Hiyori and Yutaka were splashing about, while Minami and Mai were seated in wicker lounge chairs at poolside.

"So what are you reading, Minami?"

"Hm? It's, um... Strawberry Panic," Minami replied with a blush. "Konata recommended it to me before she left yesterday. What about you?"

"Oh, it's just something I found in Hiyori's bag while she wasn't looking. Something about it spoke to me." Without missing a beat, she held up the cover for Minami to see, which read **_DO NOT OPEN - HIYORI'S EYES ONLY!_** "The funniest part is that the main characters really resemble -"

"MAI, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!", Hiyori interjected as she finally noticed the sketchbook that Mai was holding. In a panicked state, Hiyori began to lift herself out of the pool before she was suddenly knocked back in by the energetic Oguri Cap.

"Good boy, Oguri," Mai chuckled. Minami couldn't help but utter a small laugh as the sequence of events before her unfolded.

"Um, guys? It looks like it's going to start storming, should we head inside?"

Upon hearing Yutaka's words, the other three girls looked towards the sky and noticed that the clouds overhead were now painted a deep shade of gray.

"We probably should," Minami answered. "It wouldn't be safe to stay out here much longer."

The mint-haired girl made her way over to the edge of the pool to help the frail redhead out. As Mai beckoned Oguri Cap out of the pool, Hiyori pulled her aside.

"Please... do not show either of them that sketchbook. You can take it if you want, just... have mercy on me."

A short while later, Hiyori and Yutaka had dried off and the four girls made their way to Minami's room. Yutaka, Minami and Mai knelt down around the table in the center of the room while the mangaka turned around. "I'll be right back, I'm going to get a drink."

"Hiyori-chan, can I come with you?", Yutaka asked.

"Sure, Yu-chan. Minami, Mai, you mind if we leave you guys here for a few minutes?"

The two quiet girls nodded, giving Hiyori and Yutaka their answer.

"I wonder what kind of drinks rich people like Minami have," Hiyori chuckled as the two began to make their way down the stairs.

"Um... Hiyori-chan? Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, what's up?"

"Um... you said that it's possible for a girl to love another girl, right?"

Hiyori didn't need any further questioning to know where this conversation was heading. Her eyes lit up and her drawing hand immediately began to fidget as she put the pieces together.

"YU-CHAN, YOU LOVE MI-". The mangaka couldn't contain her excitement and began to shout at the top of her lungs before the redhead non-verbally signaled for her to quiet down. "Sorry, sorry, I've just been waiting for this moment for ages!"

"You knew, Hiyori-chan?"

"It's so obvious, Yu-chan! You guys already act like a married couple! It's beautiful, it's adorable, it's inspirational! It's a match made in heaven!"

Yutaka blushed with a smile upon receiving her friend's encouragement. "S-So what should I say to her?"

"Well, Minami already came out to Patty and I last month. I don't think she told you yet because she thought you would have too many questions." Hiyori nervously grabbed the back of her neck as she continued. "All you need to do is march up there, pull her aside and tell her how you feel. Someone as stoic as Minami doesn't want to beat around the bush, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it! Thank you, Hiyori-chan!"

"No problem, Yu-chan. Hey, do you think you can help me with these drinks?"

After a few minutes, Yutaka and Hiyori had located the beverages, and had to think over their options as the Iwasakis had over a hundred to choose from. They eventually settled on three: sparkling water, strawberry juice and dragonfruit soda.

"Man, maybe we should have stuck with two, this plate's a little heavy, y'know?" Hiyori only chuckled for a second before she tripped over Cherry, who was still sleeping on the floor. The fall sent the glass bottles flying, causing them to shatter on impact with the hardwood kitchen floor. "Oh my god! How much do you think I'll owe them for breaking those?!"

"I'm gonna go upstairs and get Minami-chan! She'll help us clean up!" Without a second thought, Yutaka sprinted up to the second floor.

"Alright, I guess I should find some paper towels and..." Hiyori's train of thought halted completely as not even 15 seconds before she had reached the top of the stairs, she was already running back down. With a closer look, Hiyori could see that Yutaka was in tears. "Yu-chan! What happened?"

Yutaka had no answer for her friend as she bolted out the door, face buried into her hands.

* * *

The first minute that Minami and Mai spent alone was quite peaceful. The two returned to their reading material from earlier, enjoying the quiet as they were able to focus.

At least, until Hiyori's yelling from downstairs broke the silence. As Minami peered up from her volume of Strawberry Panic and muttered a few swears to herself, Mai took the initiative and stood up to close the door.

"Thank you, Mai..." As Minami addressed her new friend, Mai couldn't help but notice that she was looking down at her hands, which were now folded into her lap.

Mai knelt back down at the table, putting herself directly across from the mint-haired girl. "Minami... is something wrong?"

"No, not at all," she replied with a smile. "Everything just feels... perfect right now."

"Hm? How do you mean?"

"Don't get me wrong, Mai. I'm really happy to have friends as close as Yutaka and Hiyori, but sometimes everyone gets a little too... rambunctious. I've always loved the quiet, and even if we haven't known each other for very long, your calm presence has been very comforting to me."

Mai began blushing upon receiving this praise. "Th-Thank you, Minami. I'm very grateful that you and the others were able to befriend me so quickly. It usually takes me so long to warm up to people, but something felt... different this time."

"What felt different?"

"It... It was _you_, Minami. I had the same problem back in Tokisadame. I love a little bit of chaos every now and then, but I never got a break. My ordinary life was anything _but _ordinary. Today was the first chance I had in years to just sit down with a manga. I've never felt so at peace before. At least... not with someone else in the same room."

Minami looked up to find that Mai was beginning to lean over the table, bringing her face closer and closer to her own. In an instant, the blush on Minami's face matched her friend's. "M-Mai... what are you doing?"

"I'm doing what feels... perfect right now."

Minami knew what was coming, but for whatever reason, she didn't pull herself back. Instead, she closed her eyes as Mai pressed her lips against her own, even leaning into the kiss herself. The calm that Mai had suddenly brought into her life was now amplified as she felt that all was right with the world. Lost in the moment, Minami wrapped her arms around her and pulled her in even closer. Mai was taken aback by Minami's sudden boldness, but had no intention of protesting. The two were far too focused on each other to hear Minami's bedroom door creak open.

"Minami-chan? Can you please help us -"

Yutaka's eyes widened in pure shock as she witnessed the scene in front of her. Minami, the woman she had been in love with for over a year, and Mai, the woman that had just been added to the group yesterday, were certainly enjoying their time alone. For the entire day, Yutaka had been anticipating the moment that Minami would return her love, and in a matter of seconds the excitement was ripped away from her. As her words registered with Minami and Mai, they finally pulled away from the kiss, both matching Yutaka's shocked expression.

"Y-Yutaka..."

As usual, the mint-haired girl could read her best friend's expression perfectly. She had seen Yutaka surprised before, she had seen Yutaka upset before, and she had seen Yutaka embarrassed before. This look did not match anything she had ever seen in the redhead before, and yet she could tell clear as day: Yutaka felt _betrayed._

As the tears began to well in Yutaka's eyes, Minami didn't feel like she could move a muscle. She knew that any attempt she made to calm Yutaka down would be futile. She could only slam her head onto the table in anguish as Yutaka ran out the doorway and down the stairs, the tears never relenting.

* * *

**Author's Note: Welp. That was a chapter.**

**I feel like some of these subplots became a bit messy in execution, but I still really want to finish this fic. It might call for a remaster in the future at this point, after my writing skills improve.**

**I wanna put this on the record, Yutaka X Minami is one of my all-time favorite pairings. I just really wanted to try something different this time around, but there is a very high likelihood that I'll be writing several Yutaka X Minami fics in the future.**

**I didn't tackle much of the Hakase plot in this chapter. I was planning on ending this chapter with the next segment of that plot but the more I thought about it, the more this felt like a natural stopping point. The next chapter will have plenty of Nichijou content, especially Hakase.**

**AND YES, I KNOW THE BUS THING PROBABLY DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. Again, messy in execution.**

**Please leave any criticisms you may wish to give, because I feel like this time around I deserve a fair amount of it.**

**_An interruption,_**

**_A heartbreak, and three changed lives_**

**_Mogami River_**

**_EDIT: If you're just reading this for the first time, my note about the "train thing" might not make sense. Honestly that part has been bugging me for longer than I can remember, and I finally decided to make an edit to it. I don't even really want to explain what I meant, it's such an embarrassing plot hole that I probably wrote on two hours of sleep._**


	6. The Hunt is On

With no hope of catching up to Yutaka, Hiyori turned around from the doorway and sprinted up the stairs. She nearly tripped over her own footing as she took the steps two at a time, determined to find answers from the two quiet girls that were currently in Minami's room. Hiyori reached the top of the staircase to find the door was still open, both Mai and Minami frozen in place.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF AKIBA HAPPENED UP HERE?!"

"She... she loved me..." Minami could only stutter in response. The surge of emotions she had experienced in the past thirty seconds was almost too much to comprehend. One moment she had her arms wrapped around someone who completely understood her, the euphoria coursing through her veins as she accepted her romantic advances. Bliss soon turned to despair as her best friend walked in on the two, her soul crushed the instant she laid eyes upon the sight before her. Minami looked into her emerald eyes and knew that she had greatly wounded the redhead, the last thing she ever wanted to do.

"OF COURSE SHE LOVED YOU! How were you the only one who didn't notice, Minami?! But that doesn't answer my question, what did you do to her?"

Minami could only clutch her face into her hands at this question, knowing that she was responsible for Yutaka's pain.

"Let's just say fans of your doujinshi might have a new pairing on their hands," Mai interjected.

"... you didn't... Okay, whatever, we don't have time for this. We have to get out there and find Yutaka before she gets hurt!"

Mai and Hiyori began to head towards the door, but turned towards Minami as they noticed she had not moved from her kneeling position.

"... I can't let her see me, Hiyori. I've already hurt her enough."

"Minami, we need you to help us. Even if you and Yutaka don't feel the same way about each other, she'll get over it! She's still your best friend, and you can't just abandon her like this. Now come on."

Reluctantly, Minami took Hiyori's words to heart and joined them in walking down the stairs. Suddenly, a faint fruity smell in the air reminded the mangaka of something important.

"Shit! I still need to clean up this mess!"

Before Hiyori could even move to grab the paper towels, Mai put her thumb and index finger together, pursed her lips around them and produced a sharp whistle. Within seconds, Pyon and Oguri Cap ran to her feet, then towards the puddles of soft drinks as she pointed them out.

"They'll take care of it, they have stomachs of iron. We can get the glass later."

Minami couldn't help but produce another small chuckle as she observed the two dogs lapping up the soda like plain water. "Okay, I think I'm ready. Let's go find her."

With that, the three girls ran out the door and into the night, praying that Yutaka was not in danger.

* * *

**_"Attention, passengers, we are approaching Saitama. Please begin making your way to the nearest exit in an orderly fashion."_**

Nano couldn't help but breathe a heavy sigh of relief as she had finally reached her original destination. While she finally had an opportunity to get some real rest, riding a train for six hours can still take a lot out of you... yes, even if you're a robot. She stood up, her tired knees buckling under her as she walked towards the door directly to her right.

_"It's gonna take me another six hours to get back to Tokisadame, what difference would a few minutes make?"_, the robot thought to herself. _"First thing's first, I'm going to find Mai and say a proper goodbye_. _It would suck if I came all the way here for no reason. Then I'll get a good night's sleep and be ready to help Hakase early tomorrow. Hopefully Yuuko would be okay with me helping by then."_

Nano began her walk from the station, fully intent on locating the new Minakami household before the end of the night. However, after around ten minutes of walking and searching, something caught her off guard. She saw a small, red-headed girl by herself, crying on a bench. Everyone who passed her by kept their heads up and continued walking, paying no attention to her whatsoever.

"How horrible! I have to do something!" Nano pondered for a moment, then remembered the most comforting thing she could do in this situation. She approached the small girl and sat beside her on the bench. As to be expected, the redhead looked up at the girl who was now suddenly next to her. Through her clouded eyes, she could see Nano knock on her left temple twice, producing another fresh pastry from her forehead. "Want a sweet bun? They make a great comfort food."

"W-woah! That's so cool!" The redhead was almost forced to stop crying as she witnessed the spectacle before her. "Are you some kind of robot?"

"... Let's just call each other by our names, is that okay? I'm Nano Shinonome," the robot replied as she extended a hand.

"Y-Yutaka. I'm Yutaka Kobayakawa!", the redhead replied as she accepted the handshake.

"So what are you doing out here all by yourself? Isn't this kind of dangerous?"

"Well... it's a long story..."

* * *

It was a peaceful day at the Shinonome household.

"Yuuko, I need to leave, but first I gotta to make sure you're not going to go insane over this."

"What?! Mio, why are you leaving at a time like this? Hakase still hasn't gotten better!"

"I told you, Yoshino is taking me to Kyoto tomorrow! I need to go home and get some sleep, and you should too. You've been at this for hours."

"I already got some sleep when you knocked me over the head with that fucking doll! I can't stop now, Mio. Not until everything is back to normal and I can legally adopt Hakase."

_"She's officially lost it..._ Fine, you don't have to listen to me. But with the state of mind you're in right now, you're not going to fix anything. Yoshino's waiting for me outside, I have to go."

"Fine! I can do this on my own! I don't care if no one else wants to help!"

"What about me?", Sakamoto interjected.

As Mio began to walk towards the door, Hakase could no longer mask her concern. She rose to her feet and began running towards her blue-haired friend.

"Mio, wait! Don't leave me alone with her! Can you at least get me another sweet roll?!"

Before Mio could close the sliding door, she saw Hakase's feet slip out from under her. The professor tripped over an object that was relatively far from the rest of the clutter on the floor. Ever resilient, she showed no signs of pain as she stood up again. She bent down to pick up the item she had slipped on, intending only to toss it to the side so she wouldn't trip over it again. However, there was something oddly familiar to her about the object that was now in her hand, but she couldn't quite place it as she examined it closer.

"Hey, you found Nano's key!", Sakamoto stated with excitement.

"Nano's... key?"

Hakase continued her examination by turning the key over. Looking at the other side, she saw small letters engraved into the left side of the handle. A closer inspection showed that the engraving read **_"If found, please return to Shinonome Lab."_**

"Shi-Shinonome... Lab..." With these two words, everything began rushing back to the professor. The key fell out of Hakase's hand as she dropped to her knees, clutching her head as the rapid influx of memories produced a migraine. Seeing her in pain, Mio re-entered the doorway and joined Yuuko and Sakamoto at the professor's side.

"Hakase! Speak to me! Say something!" Yuuko was growing increasingly frantic as the scene unfolded before her.

"Stay back, Yuuko!", Sakamoto interrupted. "This is what she needed!"

"F-First comes a rock... What's it gonna b-be?"

"What is she saying?!"

"Sharks... Snacks... Nano... The key... THE KEY! Nano! Nano, please, think about what you're saying!" As Hakase's returning thoughts fixated on her robot friend, the guilt she experienced from the previous day began to take control. Tears flooded her eyes as she continued. "Nano, I'm sorry! Nano... You... _I _blew it! I blew it! Nano Nano Nano Nano! Nano Nano Na-"

Her speech halting abruptly, Hakase's mouth hung open as her eyes glazed over. She fell onto her face as she lost consciousness, and a brief silence fell over the room before Yuuko attempted to grab her friend.

"Yuuko, stop! She'll wake up any minute," Sakamoto yelled as he did his best to hold the brunette back. "This is exactly what happened to Ms. Nakamura before she-."

"WE CAN'T JUST SIT HERE AND WAIT! SHE NEEDS OUR HELP!"

"Staying put is the best help we can give her right now. Trust me, it won't be long before-"

The black cat was interrupted by a groan coming right from behind him. "Wh-what happened?"

"See? Told you."

"HAKASE!" Yuuko couldn't help but bowl over Sakamoto as she went to snap the professor up in a tight embrace.

"Hehe, I guess someone missed me!" Hakase returned Yuuko's hug, proving that her memory was finally restored.

"I'm really glad you're back to normal, Hakase, but we have to ask you some questions now," Mio stated. "We need you to tell us what Na-"

"SHHHHH," Yuuko interrupted as she covered her friend's mouth. "Mio... she... doesn't... need..."

"We need you to tell us what Nano did to you," Sakamoto said as he continued where Mio had left off.

"GOD DAMMIT SAKAMOTO!"

"Hey, it's not like you could just cover his mouth. He speaks telepathically, right?", Mio chuckled to the defeated Yuuko.

"What Nano... did to me?" Hakase could remember the events of the previous day, clear as glass. "No... it's about what _I _did to _her_."

* * *

"So that's why you're all the way out here," Nano began after Yutaka concluded her explanation.

"Y-Yeah... My heart's never hurt like this before," the redhead replied with a sad smile as she nibbled on the rest of her sweet bun.

"You know, Yutaka... I ran out on a longtime friend of mine today, and I already regret it. From what you've told me, it sounds like Minami really values your friendship, and even if she doesn't feel the same way as you, you shouldn't give up what you two already have."

"I guess you're right. She's even taken better care of me than my big sister ever has. But Nano, why did you leave _your_ friend today? Do you wanna talk about it?"

"It's... It's complicated, Yutaka. It's a situation that I'm sure would leave you with more questions than answers. All I can really say is that I hurt her, the same way I hurt someone else before, and I didn't think I could endure the trauma again. But all day I thought about everything the two of us had been through together, and all I could feel the whole way to Saitama was guilt. If I couldn't put myself through that for my best friend... then what kind of friend am I?"

Both Nano and Yutaka found it difficult to hold back tears in that moment, but they did so successfully after a brief moment of reflection.

"Nano... thank you. I'm not going to give up on Minami-chan. I just want us both to be happy, and we make each other happy... as best friends."

"I'm glad I could help, Yutaka... I think I need to make my way back to Tokisadame, so I can make _my _best friend happy too."

"Um... Nano-chan? Do you think you could walk me to Minami-chan's house? It's s-so dark and I'm scared to go alone."

"Sure thing, Yutaka." Nano nodded as she twisted her right pinkie, which produced a small flashlight from her fingertip. Yutaka chuckled as she took Nano's hand and the redhead began to guide the pair to the Iwakasi residence.

"So, Yutaka, if you're okay with answering, who's this girl that Minami became so enamored with so fast?"

"Hm? Oh, her name is Mai Minakami, and she just moved-"

Yutaka was interrupted by the feeling of being pulled upward. The second Nano heard the name Mai Minakami, she lifted the redhead onto her back. "Hang on tight, Yutaka!" The robot then clicked her heels together, and her feet were replaced with small rocket engines. Yutaka screamed with glee as Nano took off, giving her a wonderful bird's-eye-view of an illuminated Saitama as they pursued the mint-haired girl and her other friends.

* * *

It was a peaceful day at the Shinonome household.

"... and that's what happened," Hakase concluded with a guilty sigh.

"So, it was all an accident?" Yuuko was taken aback as her notions of what had occurred that day were proven false.

"Y-Yeah... And it's all my fault. That's why I need to go find Nano and apologize, wherever she is."

"Well, wherever she is, we're gonna get you there! Right, Mio?"

Yuuko turned to see Mio on the other side of the sliding front door again. "Sorry, sorry, still gotta go to Kyoto. I left a few hundred yen on the table if you guys need a train ticket. See ya."

Yuuko breathed a defeated sigh as Mio closed the door behind her. "Oh well! We'll find Nano no matter what, right Hakase?!"

"Yeah! And with this tracking device, it'll be easy!"

"Tracking device?" Yuuko turned her head back to her friend to see her running towards her laboratory in the back of the house. After rustling around in a drawer for several seconds, the professor pulled out a medium-sized tablet on a long handle. The screen of the tablet displayed a map of Japan and a coordinate grid.

"A good scientist prepares for any situation! As long as she's still in Japan, we can find her!" Hakase began to turn the dials on the device's handle until the tablet emitted a loud _ping! _"Got the coordinates! Just gotta zoom in and... Uh..."

"What's wrong, Hakase?"

"She's all the way in Saitama right now."

"SAITAMA?! THAT'S SIX HOURS AWAY!" Sakamoto obviously did not react well to the update on his owner's whereabouts. Meanwhile, Yuuko had a very different reaction.

"Saitama?.. Mai. She was looking for Mai."

"Well, how are we gonna get to her NOW?! If she doesn't stay put right in Saitama, it'll just be a wild goose chase!"

"Not to worry, Sakamoto! You two should follow me to the lab!"

Hakase guided the brunette and the cat to her sanctuary, pridefully holding the door open for them. The second Yuuko and Sakamoto stepped inside, their jaws dropped. In front of them was a fully-functioning helicopter, built and painted entirely by the child's hand.

"Hakase, this is incredible! I love the detail on the paint job too, it looks just like a great white!"

"Yep! The Sharkopter 9000, at your service! Hop in, guys! With this baby, we can find Nano in no time!"

The three jumped into the cockpit, and as she buckled herself in, Hakase pulled another remote control out of her lab coat. With one press of a button, the ceiling of the Shinonome Lab opened wide, allowing the helicopter more than enough room to depart for Saitama.

* * *

**Author's Note: Second-to-last chapter is done! It's getting a little wonky but I'll make sure that the conclusion is well-structured. ****This is pretty much the direction I wanted the story to end up in from the get-go, so I'm pleased with the turnout overall. I definitely have to plan things out a bit more for future fics though.**

**Also, I had planned for a segment between Konata and Mio where they met in Kyoto, but I just kinda scrapped it. It didn't matter much to the overall story and I just hate filler. Might do a spin-off oneshot later on.**

**So, yeah. Stay tuned for Chapter 7!**

_**I made a mistake**_

_**But our bond shall never break**_

_**Mogami River**_


	7. The Comfort of Forgiveness

It was a peaceful day in the Shinonome helicopter.

"Hakase, this is amazing! When did you get the time to build an entire helicopter?!"

"I had to do something while Nano was going to school, right?"

As Hakase carefully piloted the Sharkopter 9000, Yuuko couldn't help but admire the bright lights of Japan directly below. Meanwhile, a certain black cat was hanging onto the brunette's leg for dear life.

"Hakase, why would you pull me in here?! You know I'm afraid of heights!"

"I didn't make you come with us, you saw the ball of yarn in the cockpit and jumped in here yourself," the professor giggled in response.

"At least we know she's back to her old self," Sakamoto muttered with a heavy sigh.

"We're going pretty fast! How long do you think it'll be until we get to Saitama?"

"Luckily up here we don't have to stop at every train station! It shouldn't be more than an hour at this point, so just sit back and enjoy the view!"

Yuuko bent down to remove Sakamoto from her leg and lift him up.

"Yuuko! What are you doing?!"

"Just following the professor's orders," she replied with a smug wink. "Isn't it beautiful, Sakamoto?"

"IT'S BEAUTIFUL IN PICTURES, BUT YOU'RE HOLDING ME RIGHT UP AGAINST THE WINDOW! PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!"

The Sharkopter 9000 continued its journey to Saitama with Yuuko and Hakase laughing the entire way.

* * *

"Woo-hoooo! Nano, this is amazing!", Yutaka laughed as she and the robot took to the skies.

"Just keep hanging on, Yutaka! We'll find them before you know it!"

In the midst of all the excitement, Yutaka had almost forgotten the question she wanted to ask just seconds earlier. "Hey Nano, why did you get so excited when I mentioned Mai's name?"

"Well... Mai used to go to my high school, and she lived close to my home. But the day she moved away, I never got to say goodbye."

"Oh... is that why you ran away? Did it hurt her that badly?"

"No... I did something else much worse, and I know that I'll never be forgiven for it. Even if I go back to help, I don't deserve to have everything go back to normal. I've been a horrible friend."

Yutaka responded to Nano's self-deprecation by leaning down and wrapping her arms tightly around her. "Nano, we all make mistakes. I've only known you for half an hour but you're already one of the sweetest people I've ever met. If you're usually this sweet to your friend, you can be forgiven."

Nano could only offer light sobs in response, as she had begun to tear up the moment Yutaka's small arms had taken hold of her. The journey to Saitama had been one of the greatest emotional roller coasters she had ever experienced. Along the way, she had managed to feel fear, excitement, guilt, and sadness. However, in the arms of the redhead, she began to feel something entirely new, and that was hope. Perhaps there was a way to make up for her mistake. After all, that's exactly what it was: a mistake. She had never intended to harm the professor, and in that moment she was sure that Hakase knew that... assuming she had regained her memory.

"I hope we find your friends soon, Yutaka. I really need to get back to Tokisadame..."

As if right on cue, Yutaka pointed to Nano's right towards a dimly-lit sidewalk. "There they are!" Under the streetlight below, Nano could make out the figures of three girls: one with short mint-green hair, one with vibrant crimson eyes behind a large pair of glasses, and one who was unmistakably her former classmate.

"Alright Yutaka, hold on tight! It's time to land!"

* * *

"God, we've been searching for an hour! How far could she have gotten? Isn't her stamina like, nonexistent?"

While Hiyori had rambled to her friends the entire walk, Minami and Mai had not uttered a word. The combination of their concern for Yutaka and their own romantic tension made them both afraid to say anything to one another, keeping them squarely within their own thoughts. Obviously they had been as active in the search as Hiyori was, but the lack of leads didn't give them anything to talk about.

"Maybe we should turn around, guys. The police station's probably better equipped for this than we... Uh, do you guys hear that hissing sound?"

"Minami-chan! Tamura-san! Minakami-san!"

The trio looked up towards the voice they had just heard to find the small redhead in question waving at them, donning one of the largest smiles they had ever seen on her face. While Mai sighed in relief, Hiyori and Minami were far too distracted by the girl that Yutaka was currently holding on to. It was hard for them not to be distracted by the fact that there were jet engines where her legs should be.

"It's good to see you again, Nano."

Maintaining their shocked expressions, Hiyori and Minami diverted their attention to Mai in the hopes that she could explain exactly what they were looking at.

"Oh, I suppose I should introduce you. This is -"

"Hey, don't worry about who _I_ am, I'm just here to drop off this little rascal," Nano interjected as she pulled Yutaka off of her back and ruffled her hair. As the redhead giggled in response to this, the two confused girls ran over to their friend in relief.

"Yutaka!", Minami began to address her friend in the loudest voice that anyone had ever heard her utter. As her eyes began to well with tears, she continued. "I'm so sorry, Yutaka. I wasn't thinking, I never meant to hurt you and I shouldn't have-"

The redhead interrupted her best friend by placing a finger on her lips. "Minami-chan, it's okay. I'm happy for you two."

Minami had no response to this revelation. Just an hour ago, she had looked into Yutaka's eyes to see an expression of complete despair. However, in this moment her smile and friendly glow were entirely genuine. Their friendship was still completely intact, and the mint-haired girl couldn't stop herself from pulling Yutaka in for a hug while sobbing into her shoulder.

"Thank you, Nano. You've been a huge help."

"It's no problem, Mai. Anything for a friend, you know?"

As Mai and Nano continued their conversation, Hiyori had joined Minami and Yutaka in a group hug. The initial burst of relief had passed after several minutes, so the friends stood up and prepared to make their way back to the Iwasaki residence.

"Yutaka told us what happened. So your name is Nano.", Hiyori said as she addressed the robot for the first time.

"Y-Yes. I'm guessing she told you a lot about me," a flustered Nano replied with a hand on her neck.

"Yeah... But whether you're a human or a robot, you're a lifesaver. We can't thank you enough for what you've done here."

"It was really no trouble, and I got to make a new friend, y'know?"

"Make that three new friends," Minami interjected with a smile. "And since you can just fly here, feel free to come by at any time."

"Well, I don't have nearly enough fuel capacity for the entire trip," the robot chuckled. "I had to take the train most of the way here. Plus, I have someone back home to look after."

"Go to her, Nano," Yutaka said as she grasped Nano's hand. "Everything's perfect here, but you have one more friendship to take care of."

With a quick nod, Nano waved goodbye to the four girls after giving Mai a hearty "Selamat malam." A few seconds after she began to walk towards the train station, she turned back around to see a wonderful sight: Minami was giving the redhead a piggyback ride back to the Iwasaki residence as she fell asleep on her shoulder, and with one free arm the mint-haired girl was holding Mai's hand. Their friendships were indeed meant to last.

After a sigh of relief, a look of determination spread over Nano's face. "Alright, time to find Hakase!" However, her look of determination was quickly replaced with shock as she heard the roar of a helicopter passing overhead. But the helicopter was painted to look like... a shark?

* * *

"Nano's dead ahead, guys!"

"Alright! Where are we gonna land?"

"There's no time to land, she looks like she wants to run away! Yuuko, grab the wheel and keep it still!"

"What are you doing, kid?!"

"I'm getting my friend back, Sakamoto!" Hakase ran to the door on the right end of the helicopter, holding a rope ladder under her arm. The professor practically kicked it open as she dropped the ladder over the edge and began her descent. In a matter of seconds, the robot stopped backing away and recognized the figure exiting the helicopter.

"H-Hakase?!" It was obvious that Hakase's memories were back. Nano began to run towards her friend with outstretched arms, hoping that she would return her hug and the happiness of seeing her friend. Her hopes were quickly dashed as the professor pulled a hammer out of her lab coat. Nano dropped to her knees and closed her eyes tightly, beginning to beg for her life. "Hakase, I'm sorry! I should have never left you alone, but please don't hurt me! I never wanted to-"

The robot halted her pleas as she heard a harsh crack several feet ahead of her. Hakase was also kneeling down on the asphalt, striking the iron key that had burdened Nano for so long with the hammer. After a series of loud strikes with the mallet, the key had completely splintered into pieces. The professor stood up on her feet, admiring her work before tossing the hammer to the side.

"Nano... No more key. No more features. You're not my plaything, you're my best friend. It's time I started treating you like it."

Nano lifted her hand to her mouth in shock. In a matter of seconds, all of her problems and fears were put to rest. She made a mad dash to her friend and delivered the tightest, most affectionate embrace she had given in her entire life.

"Th-Thank you, Hakase! I don't deserve this..."

"No, Nano, you _needed _this... and I need you. Come on, let's get in the Sharkopter 9000 and go home!"

"That sounds... wonderful."

The two began to ascend the ladder, much to the delight of Yuuko and Sakamoto waiting above. After much discussion between the four on the way back to Tokisadame, all that seemed to matter was that Nano and Hakase were happier with each other than ever before. Once everything was squared away, the four told humorous stories and played I Spy games until they had finally made it home.

* * *

"By the way Nano, did you happen to see Mai while you were in Saitama?"

"I did, Yuuko... and you know, I think she's going to be very happy there."

* * *

After two hours, the helicopter successfully landed inside of the Shinonome lab.

"Oh man, it's nice to be home again! I've been stuck in a train for most of the day."

"We really gotta use the Sharkopter 9000 more often, Nano! It's so much faster!"

"Well yeah, but there aren't just landing pads scattered across Japan, and -" Nano froze up as she looked into the living room to see hundreds of items scattered across the floor, as well as her Daruma doll shattered into pieces.

"Sakamoto did it!", Yuuko and Hakase shouted in perfect unison.

"Wh- Don't pin this all on me! I don't even have the thumbs to pick up half of these things!"

"HAKASEEEEEEE!" In a rare display of anger for the robot, Nano began chasing the two girls around the house, who began to laugh as she tripped over multiple objects consecutively, giving them enough time to escape her rage.

"Well, I guess they'll be gone for a while. But what are we gonna do with... all of this?"

With a sigh of defeat, Nano addressed the black cat. "You know what, Sakamoto? I might have to use a feature just this once." Suddenly she twisted her left ring finger around, causing her arm to fold inward. In a matter of seconds, the head of a vacuum cleaner peered out from the hole inside. "Might as well have the house clean before they get back, you know?"

After an hour of hard work, Nano had returned the living room to its formerly spotless state. However, she didn't have much time to admire her work as she heard the sliding front door open. She turned to the door to find that Yuuko and Hakase had returned.

"There you are! Do you have any idea how much cleaning I had to do because of you guys?! I don't know what happened here, but I -"

Nano was interrupted by Yuuko handing her a small box.

"It was my fault, Nano. I was way too hellbent on getting Hakase's memories back. I know it's not much, but I got you this."

Nano opened the box to find a strawberry cake from Daiku Bakery, her favorite place in Tokisadame. On top of the cake, written in frosting was the word "SORRY" with a large heart beneath it.

"It's... it's perfect. But you know, I have a lot to be sorry for too, so we should all share."

Hakase's eyes lit up at the promise of a delicious midnight snack. The professor and Yuuko quickly made their way to the now clean living room table, as Nano went to the kitchen with a smile to grab a knife and three plates.

It was a peaceful day at the Shinonome household.

* * *

**Author's Note: PHEW! After a lot of ups and downs, this fic is DONE! I'm more pleased with the overall turnout than I anticipated. This was probably the shortest chapter but I didn't really have many other places to go with the story. All signs were pointing to the finale, and I even wrote more than I was expecting.**

**I wanna give a special shout-out to Redler Red7 and thank them for the reviews. As I've said, I welcome any and all criticism and Redler left some extremely helpful reviews on this story, and I just want them to know that I really appreciate it.**

**What's my next project after this? I have no clue, to be honest. I'd love to branch out from Lucky Star and try some new things. Recently I've fallen in love with Kaguya-sama: Love is War so there may be some ground to cover there. However, I've watched a lot more anime in the past three months than I have in my entire life so I'll soon have a wealth of source material to choose from.**

**Thank you to everyone who's read _The Redhead, The Robot, and the Two Quiet Girls! _I know a lot of Lucky Star fics are abandoned, but I wanna put this out there: I WILL NEVER ABANDON A STORY. EVER. I hate the feeling of getting to the end of a story that hasn't been updated in years, and if there are people who are genuinely interested in my work, I don't want to do that to them.**

**And of course, I wanna cap this fic off with one last Yuuko haiku:**

_**You don't have to beg**_

_**I'll always be by your side**_

_**Mogami River**_


End file.
